


Best man

by powblam



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dirty Dreams, Fluff and Angst, Love, M/M, Marriage, Short chapters... Sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-16
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-01-25 09:22:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 38,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1643636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/powblam/pseuds/powblam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi looked at his watch, his leg bouncing nervously under the table. "Damn brat, making me wait." Levi mumbled to himself. Today Eren was returning from his trip to Germany, and today was the day Levi decided to confess his feelings. 'What if he rejects me? Will we still be friends?' His thoughts were interrupted by Eren and some mystery man entering the cafe. "Levi! Let me introduce you to Stefan. I know it's sudden, but, we're getting married!" Time stopped for Levi with those 3 words.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so a couple of things:  
> 1\. This is my first story ever. Not just in the Ereri fandom, but like ever. I have never written a story before, so please bare with me! It's not the best but I tried!  
> 2\. This story is based off of the movie "Made of Honor" it's a great movie that I recommend!  
> 3\. Give me feedback! I want to become a better writer, so comments would help a lot!  
> 4\. Since I'm not good at writing, the chapters will most likely be short. Hopefully they will get longer as the story progresses on (and also my writing skills)  
> 5\. I hope you enjoy!

The sky was partly cloudy, and a light breeze blew past as Levi got out of his car. 

"Hey! Open the trunk! My flight leaves soon!" Eren called out. Levi sighed heavily as he opened the trunk to his car. Levi noticed Eren having trouble getting his luggage out. 

"Damn brat. How the hell are you going to survive over there?" Levi said as he grabbed a bag.  
Eren replied in a sarcastic tone "Awe, someone gonna miss me?" 

Levi clicked his tongue, and began walking towards the airport. In reality, Levi would miss him. It's only natural to miss the one you love. Yes Levi was in love with the boy. He never realized why. Was it because of his bright turquoise eyes? Or his dark brown head of hair? Maybe it was the way the boy smiled: exposing his perfect straight, white teeth. 

"Uhh Levi? Where ya going" Eren asked with his head tilted to the side like a confused puppy. Levi didn't even notice he was still walking forward. He quickly turned around and began walking back toward Eren. 

"I'm the one going to Germany, not you!" Eren teased in a playful tone. He was wearing that smile that Levi had come to love. Levi shook the thoughts out of his head. 'He is your friend. You have to stop thinking like this.' Levi thought to himself. 

"Yea shut it." Levi mumbled, but Eren still heard it. He chuckled in response. An awkward silence fell over them. 

"Well," Eren broke the silence, "thanks for dropping me off. Sorry I had to bother you." 

"It's fine." Oh it was more than fine. "You will be gone for how long again? A month?" Levi asked.

"Yea, I'm really excited though. It's not everyday you can go to Germany!" Eren looked at his phone for the time. "I better get going. Don't wanna miss my flight. My boss would kill me!" Eren joked. Levis lips twitched a little, his attempt to smile. It was difficult to get Levi to smile. 

"Don't have too much fun over there. Call or text me whenever. And let me know when you get back." 

"Ok mom!" Eren got a death glare from Levi. With that, Eren grabbed his luggage and walked further into the airport, leaving Levi behind for a month. 

~~~~

The days went by slowly for Levi. With Eren away, Levi had nothing to do. Maybe if you didn't spend every minute with the brat you would have a normal social life. Levi snorted, knowing that even before he met Eren, he was a social outcast. Its been over a year now, hasn't it? Levi thought. It has been over a year since Levi and Eren met. Levi could remember every detail of that day. Hanji, better known as shitty glasses, invited Levi to hang out with Erwin and her. With nothing else going on. Levi agreed to go. Levi met up with Hanji and Erwin at a popular steak house. 

"LEEV-ack!" Hanji said as she went in for a hug, to only be met with a hand shoved in her face. 

"Shitty glasses" Levi greeted. He looked over to Erwin, and noticed a man with him. "So Erwin, whose the new kid?" 

"I think Hanji was trying to tell you that before you forced your hand down her throat" Erwin stated, but only getting a shrug off of Levi. "Any way... this is my co-worker, Eren. Eren, meet Levi." The kid stepped in front of Erwin, extending his arm out. 

"Hello Levi. My name is Eren Jaeger. It's nice to meet you!" He said while sporting a flashy smile. 

"Levi" was all Levi said. Levi turned away and began walking in to the steak house. He could hear Eren, Hanji, and Erwin talking about him. 

“What did I do wrong? That was rude!” Eren was flabbergasted. 

“Don’t worry, that’s how Levi is.” Erwin reassured.

“Yep that’s our little Levi!” Hanji yelled, earning her a death glare from Levi who was waiting up ahead. Kids got some manners. And really bright eyes. And a nice smile. Wait. Levi shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. No no no.... this isn't some weird love at first sight bullshit. No it's not. No. Little did Levi know, thats exactly what it was. 

~~~~

Levi began to pace back and forth in his bedroom, trying to decide what to wear. He got a call yesterday night from Eren. Eren was back at home, and wanted to meet up the next day at the Corner Cafe. This is my chance. I have to do this now. Levi thought. Levi had decided to confess his feeling for Eren. Levi pulled a black vest out of his closet. 

“Too much” he said while he hung it back in the closet. After 10 minutes of picking out clothes, he went with a regular white t-shirt, his dark green zip up hoodie that Eren gave him for his birthday, and plain jeans. Levi looked at the alarm clock sitting next to his bed. I’ll just leave now. I wouldn’t want to keep him waiting. Levi grabbed his car keys, cellphone, and wallet, and proceeded to leave for the cafe. 

~~~~

Levis leg began to bounce nervously under the table. 

“Where is he? Damn brat, making me wait.” Levi mumbled to himself. He took a sip of his black coffee, hoping it would help him calm his nerves, but the caffeine really wasn’t helping with it. Levi checked his phone over and over, looking for the time, or a message from the dumbass explaining why he was late. That message never came though. How will Eren react? What if he doesn’t want to be friends anymore? What if he actually likes me too? Levis thoughts were interrupted by two people entering the cafe: Eren and some mystery man. Eren looked around the cafe, and spotted the corner Levi was sitting in. He smiled and waved at Levi, then motioned for his friend to follow him. 

“Levi! It’s so great to see you! How have you been? Did ya miss me?” Eren greeted, flashing that wonderful smile. 

“I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be? Dumb brat.” Levi replied, while the mystery man gave Levi a hard look, which Levi returned in full. The mystery man had blond hair and was sporting very sloppy spiked hair. His eyes were as big as Erens, but were a light brown instead of turquoise. He was wearing a plaid button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a gray v-neck under it. His jeans were black and skinny. Too skinny, Levi thought to himself.

“Ok, I asked you to meet me here so I could tell you something,” Eren interrupted “but first, Levi, this is Stefan. Stefan, this is my good friend Levi.” Stefan gave Levi a quick nod, while Levi kept his cold glare. 

“As I said earlier, I asked to meet you so I could tell you,” Eren held Stefans hand and intertwined their fingers “Stefan and I are getting married!” Eren finished with excitement. “Getting married!” No. No….. no! Time came to a halt for Levi with those two words. The person he loved was getting married to someone else. He was too late. 

“Levi? Hey…cat got your tongue?” Eren tried to joke, but failed. Levi brushed his thoughts to the back of his mind so he could focus. 

“No, sorry I… uh…” Levi was at a loss for words. What should he say? Levi cleared his throat “I’m happy for you. Congrats.” was all Levi could manage to say. 

“Thanks!” Eren beamed, “ I wanted you to be the first to know, and I wanted to tell you in person myself.” What? Why me? Levis head began to spin. He couldn’t sit there anymore, he had to leave. Now. 

“Hey I have to go. Some thing just came up.” Levi said as he stood up and began walking toward the door. 

“Oh ok, I’ll text ya!” Eren called out. Levi got in his car and started driving home. His head was pounding, his breathing was heavy, and his chest was burning with pain. Levi had some worse-case-scenarios planned out in his head, but this wasn’t one of them. When Levi pulled up to his house, he stormed in, heading straight for his bedroom as tears trickled down his face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this chapter was hard to write. I'll explain it more at the end.

Upon arriving at his bedroom, Levi stripped himself only leaving on his boxers. He climbed into bed, and wept silently. The images kept on replaying in his head: Eren grasping that assholes hand, Erens excitement when announcing the engagement, and the way he looked at the bastard. Levi had dreams of Eren looking at him with eyes full of love and affection. Levi wanted to hold Eren's hand, plant sweet kisses on his fingers, and never let go. Of course, those were just dreams that wouldn't come true. 

Levis thoughts were interrupted by the annoying ring coming from his cellphone. Like hell he was gonna get up and answer the call. Levi dragged his blanket over his head, waiting for the ringtone to stop. The phone rang three times, and the room was silent again. Levi breathed a sigh relief. He was thinking about changing his ring tone to something less annoying when his phone started ringing again. Levi looked at his cell laying on the floor and thought ‘What the hell?’ The screen to his phone was facing the floor, so Levi couldn't see the caller id. After a few more rings, the cell finally stopped ringing. Levi wasn't sure what to do, so he eyed the phone suspiciously. He heard his phone vibrate two times, meaning he got a text. 

“Whatever” Levi said out loud, and buried himself in his blankets. It wasn't long before he heard someone knocking on the front door. Levi let out a frustrated sigh, and headed for the door. He stopped and wondered ‘Should I put my pants back on? Nah.’ Levi could care less about how he looked right now. He arrived at the front door and opened it, revealing two people standing there.

“LEEV-ack!” Hanji tried saying, but Levi slammed the door before she could finish. This was the last thing he wanted at the moment, to see Hanji and Erwin at his doorstep. Levi started walking to his room when he heard the door open and shut. 

“That wasn't too nice Levi.” Erwin stated about Levis actions. Levi shrugged it off. 

Levi asked Erwin “Why are you guys here?” because he couldn't figure out why they decided to show up without any notice. 

“Hanji was going to tell you, but you greeted her face with the door.” Once again, Levi shrugged it off. 

“I’m fine! I’m fine! Really!” Hanji sang as she approached the two men standing in Levi’s living room. 

Erwin nodded, and turned his attention back to Levi. “Eren told us about his engagement, and he also said you didn't look too good when you left the cafe. We tried to call you, but you didn't answer” Erwin revealed, and looked at Levi with concern. ‘So that’s who was calling’ Levi noted to himself.

“Are you alright, Levi?” Erwin asked, although the answer was obvious by the way Levi looked: swollen, red eyes with a few tear marks lingering, messy bedhead, and the worn out face Levi was wearing. Both Hanji and Erwin knew Levi didn't take the news well, because Levi rarely shows his emotions, but right now they were on display for the world to see. 

“Levi,” Hanji began, “Erwin and I know you love Eren. You don’t have to hide your pain. We’re your friends, let us help you.” she spoke, in a serious tone. Levi’s jaw fell a little with that statement. Well, not really because of the statement, but because Hanji was being serious, and that was a rare thing to see.  
“I’m fine.” was all Levi said. Erwin was still looking at him with concern. 

“Oh!” Hanji piped, “by the way, nice boxers.” Both Erwin and Levi gave Hanji a weird look, to which Hanji bursted out laughing. The light bulb in Erwin’s head went off; Hanji was trying to change the subject and lighten the mood. It wasn't the best idea to point out Levi’s boxers, but that’s the way Hanji is. 

“Oi, shitty glasses! Eyes up here.” Levi commanded, but that made Hanji laugh louder. 

“I don’t understand this damn woman.” Levi mumbled to himself as he walked to his kitchen to make a cup of coffee. He asked Erwin and Hanji if they wanted something to drink. Erwin asked for water, and after recovering from her laughing fit, Hanji also asked for water. Levi gave Erwin and Hanji bottled water, and proceeded to make his coffee. When his coffee was done, Levi joined Erwin and Hanji at the dinner table. A peaceful silence began, until Levi broke it. 

“What am I going to do?” he asked randomly. Hanji and Erwin knew what he was referring to. They both sat there, hoping an answer would show up, but nothing came. Hanji’s face lit up with excitement. 

“Ok I just thought of a crazy idea!” Hanji started, but was interrupted by Levi

“When don’t you have a crazy idea?” Levi said. Erwin chuckled at the statement. Hanji waved her hand at Levi and continued on.

“As I was saying, why don’t you try to win Erens love? Steal him away from his fiance? Make Eren fall for you!” Hanji exclaimed. 

“I was right, you’re a lunatic.” Levi retorted. He had always known Hanji was a little off, but now he knew she was one hundred percent crazy. 

“Along with that” he continued, “this isn’t a movie, where the brat will just fall in love with me.”

“It’s like the movie Made of Honor!” Hanji blurted. Levi rolled his eyes at her. 

“Oi, weren't you listening to me? I said this isn't a goddamn movie!”

Hanji continued, not listening to a word Levi said “Yes! Except you’re not the made of honor, but it could still work out! That was a good movie.” 

“It was” Erwin agreed. Levi pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. Shitty glasses wasn't going to let this fantasy go now. 

Erwin cleared his throat, and said “I think Hanji is right. You should at least try to make Eren fall in love with you.” Now Levi thought they were both crazy.

“If I go along with this plan, I could lose the friendship I have with Eren. That’s the last thing I want right now.” Levi objected. Becoming friends with Eren wasn't easy, and Levi didn't want to lose all the progress they made. 

“So are you just going to let him go? Just like that? You’re not going to at least try?” Erwin questioned. “You’re going to stand by and watch another man love Eren? That’s going to hurt you even more.” Levi was going to say something, but stopped. Levi thought about what Erwin said ‘He does have a point. I don’t think I could handle watching Eren with that bastard.’ Levi rubbed the back of his neck and let out a heavy sigh. 

“Fine. I’ll try.” Levi said. Erwin nodded his head, and Hanji threw her hands up in the air. 

“Now then,” Levi began, “where do I begin? What should I do?” Hanji began to bounce in her seat, earning her a look from the two men at the table. 

“I am going to bet all of my money that Eren will ask you to be the best man!” Hanji bursted out. Levi was right, she wasn't going to let his movie fantasy go. 

“I think that’s enough for today. Levi, we’re going to go now. We will talk more about the plan tomorrow. Get some rest. You look like you could use it.” Erwin spoke. With that, Erwin lead Hanji to the front door and proceeded to leave. Levi realized how tired he actually was, and went back to his bedroom. He sneaked his way back under his soft white blanket, and took a deep breath. ‘So now I’m gonna make Eren fall in love with me. This is fucking crazy.’ Levi thought before he drifted to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow ok so I have the main points of the story planned out in my head, but connecting them all together is the hard part. This was one of the connecting points, and it was a train wreck. I'm not really satisfied with the chapter, but at least the story is moving, a little. Thanks for the kudos and comments! They mean a lot to me! 
> 
> I'm also not sure how often I will update this fic. I have school until the 6th and a job, so I don't have a lot of free time at the moment. Once school is done, I will work on this story a lot more. 
> 
> Last thing, I am horrible with grammar and punctuation, so I'm very sorry for all the mistakes!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter! Yay! I would like to thank my wonderful sister, Maria, for editing all of my mistakes! 
> 
> Also, this chapter is like pure dialogue, so sorry!

A few days had passed since Levi talked to Eren, Hanji and Erwin. In those few days, Levi kept himself busy with work and cleaning in order to take his mind off of the unrealistic plan he agreed to. Today was Levi's day off, and his house was spotless. With nothing to do, Levi started thinking about ways to 'win Eren's love'... and couldn't come up with anything. 'Well, I'm screwed' was the only thing Levi could think of.

Levi walked into his bedroom to grab the ringing phone that settled on its charger. He unplugged his phone and noticed he had received a message. Levi's eyes widened at the name of who had text him on the screen.

Eren: "Hey, I was wondering if we could meet up and talk. I would call, but I think it would be better if we talked face to face. Corner Cafe at 2?"

Levi looked at the time on his phone. It was 12:30 right now. Levi wondered 'Why does he want to talk at the cafe? What's so important that he couldn't just call or text?' Levi sighed to himself and started typing a reply.

Levi: "Sure. Sounds good." Levi made his reply short and sweet. Well, more short than sweet. Actually, there wasn't anything sweet about the message, it was just short. 'Whatever.' Levi told himself as he hit the send button. Now Levi had nothing to do but wait for an hour and a half. 

~~~~

It turned 2 o’clock as Levi entered the cafe. He scanned the cafe, and noticed Eren sitting alone at the table Levi liked to sit at. Levi liked that spot because it was in the far right corner of the cafe, and next to a fairly big window. From that spot, Levi could see anyone that would enter or exit the cafe, and he could look out the window at the scenery although there wasn't much to look at; cars driving, people walking here and there. 

Levi approached the table, and greeted Eren with a simple, "Hey." Eren must have been daydreaming because he jumped at the sound of Levi's voice. 

"Dear God, don't sneak up on me like that," Eren gasped as he placed his hand over his chest. Levi smiled at the response.

“It’s not my fault that your hearing is shit.” Levi pointed out while he settled down on the opposite side of the table, facing Eren. Eren crossed his arms and put on his pouting face. ‘Really?’ Levi thought ‘He is actually pouting. Too cute.’ 

“That’s real mature of you, brat,” Levi said regarding Eren’s current state. Eren mumbled something under his breath, but Levi was only able to make out the word ‘midget.’ Levi’s eyebrow twitched upon hearing this word. 

“What did you say, brat?” Levi growled while he gave Eren the best death glare he could manage. Eren glanced at Levi, and flinched at the glare. 

“N-Nothing!” Eren managed to stutter. Levi looked at Eren while Eren was busy looking at other things in the cafe. After a bit of silence, Levi finally spoke up.

“Well, why’d you want to meet up?” 

“Oh yeah,” Eren remembered as he directed his attention to Levi, “I wanted to ask you something… about the wedding.”

Levi’s heart sank a little as those words reached his ears. Levi really didn't want to think about the wedding, but he didn't want Eren to know this so he continued to listen.

“The wedding will be on the 17th of May. That’s a few months away.” Eren twiddled his fingers as he spoke “It may be a little early to ask this, but, will you be my best man?”

“Your best what?” Levi asked, not sure if he heard Eren right or not.

“My best man. It’s like a maid of honor, but for the groom instead of the bride.” Eren explained, leaning forward in his chair a little, “So… Will you be my best man?”

Levi blinked a few times. He still wasn't sure if what he heard was right. Levi wasn't sure why Eren asked him to be his best man. ‘Why me?’ Levi thought.

“Huh?” Eren asked, a puzzled look evident on his face. ‘Oh shit, I said that out loud.’ Levi realized and let out a sigh. ‘Well, I might as well ask him.’

“Why me?” Levi repeated, “Why didn't you ask someone else, like Armin? He’s your best friend, right?” 

“Of course he is!” Eren answered, “I already talked to him about it. He said he has college finals around that time, so he will be preparing for those. Even if he came after his finals, the college he is attending is almost 2 hours away from here.” Eren sighed, and rubbed his forehead. 

“Armin doesn't want to be a burden. He told me it would be a burden if he decided to be the best man, and at the last minute couldn't come because of his tests. And he doesn't want to be late to the wedding, so it would be best if I chose someone else.” 

Levi was still confused, “Why not move the wedding date so Armin can come to the wedding, then?”

“On May 15th, Stefan’s family will be coming to America until the 19th. That’s the only time they will be able to come to America, so we decided on the 17th so his family could be there.” Eren informed Levi. Levi nodded and rubbed his chin.

“What about Mikasa?” Levi teased

“Levi!” Eren exclaimed “She is a girl! The best man has to be a man, hence the name best MAN! Eren put emphasis on the word ‘man.’ Levi couldn't help but smirk at the boy. 

“Are you su-” 

“Levi!” Eren interrupted. “Why do you hate my sister so much?” 

“She started the whole rivalry thing.” 

“That’s real mature of you.” Eren said, mocking Levi from earlier. Levi delivered a kick to Eren’s shin, causing the boy to yelp. 

“Bastard,” Eren hissed at Levi. Levi shifted in his seat, and Eren prepared himself for another kick. Instead, Levi softly nudged Eren’s leg while he apologized. Eren laughed and told Levi it was alright. Eren was shocked by Levi’s actions, but wasn’t going to complain. It was rare to see Levi act like this; kind and playful.

“So, what’s your answer?” Eren questioned Levi, crossing his arms with a sigh.

“Well, I guess I’ll accept, since you have no one else to ask.” Levi looked at the boy sitting across from him. Eren was wearing a wide, toothy grin, and his eyes seemed to be glowing with happiness. Seeing Eren like this made Levi’s heart race. It was because of Levi that Eren was beaming with joy, and Levi loved it. Knowing Eren was happy because of Levi was the best feeling in the world. Levi thought to himself, ‘If only I could see him like this everyday. I would do anything to make him happy.’   
“Thank you!” Eren blurted out a little too loudly, causing the people in the cafe to glance over at the two men. Eren coughed into his hand, and continued on in a calmer tone. “I mean thanks. It really means a lot to me.” 

“Yeah. Whatever, brat.” Levi responded, not knowing what else to say. Eren laughed and looked at his phone to check the time. 

“Well, I should go now. Stefan is waiting for me at the apartment.” Eren said while he stood up. Levi got up and followed Eren to the exit. 

“Just so you know, I will need to meet up with you a lot now that you’re the best man.” Eren stated as they walked out the door. 

“Oh, really? Why is that?” Levi said with a smirk. Eren rolled his eyes at the short guy. 

“Because,” Eren explained, “I will need help with shit and you’re gonna help me with that shit.” 

“I am not going to help you take a shit. Gross,” Levi responded in a disgusted tone. Eren face palmed at the remark. 

“I didn't mean it like that. Jesus. I need you to help me with stuff. Is that better?”

“You should get going, brat. Don’t you have somewhere to be?” Levi said while he rolled his eyes, although he didn't like the idea of Eren going home to that jackass. 

“Yeah, I’m going,” Eren spoke as he began walking away, before turning around and saying, “See you later, Levi.” 

“Bye, brat,” Levi called out as he headed toward his car. 

~~~~

Levi arrived home, and upon entering his house, he collapsed on the couch. He didn't realize how tired he actually was until he got home. Along with that, Levi couldn't wipe off the stupid grin he was wearing. Levi mentally blamed Eren for it. ‘Damn brat. Now I can’t stop fucking smiling.’ Levi hadn't felt this happy in a long time, and it was all because of a dumb conversation.

Levi took his cell phone out of his pocket and started a group message that included Erwin and Hanji. Levi began typing out his message. 

Levi: “Guess who’s going be the best man at Eren’s wedding?” 

Levi hit the send button and waited. He didn't have to wait long before he had a response.

Hanji: “YAAHHOOO! Who was right?! This chick! I was right; so totally right! Ha! Where’s my money?” 

Erwin: “Hanji, we never bet any money. And, congrats, Levi. How are you feeling?”

Levi didn’t know how to respond to that. He could die of happiness right now because of the conversation Eren and Levi had shared. He also felt a bit of anger and jealousy because now he would be with both Eren and Stefan through the whole wedding planning. Levi definitely didn’t want to see Eren getting cozy and lovey dovey with another man. But what could Levi do? He had to stick with the plan, and being the best man gave him an advantage. 

Levi: “I’m alright.” 

Erwin: “OK. Remember the plan. Hanji and I are here if you need anything.”

Hanji: “Levi is so lying. I bet he is fangirling like crazy.” 

Levi: “Shut up, shitty glasses.” 

Hanji was typing out a message, but Levi didn’t care to see it. He put his phone down and looked at the ceiling. Levi couldn’t stop thinking about the time he had spent with Eren. The images of Eren laughing and smiling played in his head as he fell into a peaceful nap.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter, whoop whoop! Sorry it took so long. My last day of school was on Friday, and my sister graduated on Sunday, and now we are getting her grad party ready, and I have to work a lot more since school is done, so I don't have a lot of free time at the moment. Thanks again to my wonderful sister for editing! Well, sorry for the long note, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Almost a week after Eren and Levi met at the cafe, Eren asked Levi to come to his apartment to meet the other groomsmen and get to know them a little more. The idea of getting to know new people didn't really sit well with Levi, as he never got along with others well, but as the best man, Levi was obligated to meet them.

“Levi! You showed up,” Eren exclaimed as he greeted Levi at the door.

“Why wouldn't I? You asked me to come here, so I did,” Levi told the bright eyed boy as he walked into the apartment. Levi looked around as he entered Eren’s apartment. Upon entering the apartment, there was a hallway that lead to two rooms. Straight ahead was part of the living room, and to the right was Eren’s kitchen that consisted of the basics: A fridge, an oven, a few counters, and a microwave. As Levi walked down the hall toward the living room, he was greeted by a loud ‘BANG’ and cursing from another male. 

“Dude, calm down. It’s just a game," said one of the guys.

“That was my damn kill! Why’d you take it?!,” Levi heard another man yell. Eren approached cautiously while rubbing the back of his neck and laughing nervously. 

“That’s Jean for you. Damn guy takes any game too seriously,” Eren told Levi as they turned out of the hallway, leading to the rest of the living room. The living room wasn't anything special. There was a 20 inch screen tv propped up on a black tv stand, a regular tan couch facing the tv, and a loveseat that was to the left of the tv and matching couch. The tv was displaying some sort of war game, three men--or boys by the way they were acting--were occupying the couch while two were sitting on the floor in front of the couch, and one guy occupied the loveseat. Levi squinted his eyes at the person sitting on the loveseat. He recognized the neatly combed blond hair, and broad shoulders of the man.

“Erwin?,” Levi asked as he approached the love seat. ‘What the hell is he doing here?’ Levi thought.

Erwin turned around and greeted Levi with a casual 'Hey.'

“What the hell are you doing here?,” Levi questioned the blond haired man. 

Erwin’s lips turned to a smug smirk as he replied to Levi, “Why else? Eren asked me to be a groomsman. I just couldn't refuse.”  
Erwin turned his attention back to the game on the tv while Levi still tried to process what he had just heard. 

“Okay, Levi,” Eren began as he stood next to Levi, “These are the guys I asked to be the groomsmen. There’s Connie, Jean, Marco, Reiner, Bertholdt, and I’m pretty sure you know Erwin.”  
Marco smiled at Levi and gave a happy “hello,” Jean was too busy with his game to acknowledge Levi, Connie turned away from the game, did a quick nod and said “Sup?” then returned his attention to the game. Reiner greeted Levi with a “Hey man” and Bertholdt managed a quiet “hello.” 

Eren looked at the shorter man, and told him “Well, why don’t you sit down? I ordered some pizza that should be here soon. Please, make yourself at home!” 

After a short pause, Levi nodded and took a seat next to Erwin on the loveseat. Levi coughed into his hand, getting Erwin’s attention. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Erwin asked, curious as to why he was receiving a death glare from his friend.

“I want to know why Eren chose you as a groomsman. You two don’t seem close.” 

“Well,” Erwin started “We do work together, and we have been working together for a long time. Of course we became friends after a while.” 

Levi nodded his head, and stated, “I’m still a little shocked. Like I said earlier, you two don’t seem close.” 

“If it bugs you that much, ask Eren why he chose me. I bet he has a better answer than I do. But hey, now I get to help you with the plan,” Erwin smirked at Levi. 

“I think I can handle it on my own, thank you very much,” Levi protested.

“Well, just remember I’m here if you need anything,” Erwin stated. With that, another ‘BANG’ echoed through the apartment. 

“Connie, I swear to God, if you keep on taking my kills, I will bash your head in!” Jean threatened Connie, but Connie just laughed it off and kept playing. 

“Hey Jean, calm down, would ya?” Eren asked, although it sounded more like a demand. 

“Kiss my ass, Jaeger!”

“What the fuck horse face?” The two began to argue, tossing out threats and insults. Marco tried to calm Jean down, but Jean acted as if Marco wasn't even there. Reiner cheered as Connie got another kill, and Bertholdt praised Connie for the kill, even though it was barely audible. 

“So, this is what I have to deal with for the next few months? A bunch of annoying brats?,” Levi told Erwin, which got a laugh out of the blond.

“You’re not the only one here.”

There was a knock at the door, and instantly, the six boys turned their heads to the door, and Levi could see the drool hanging from their mouths. Erwin got up, and offered to answer the door. 

“Money’s on the kitchen counter,” Eren called out to Erwin. A couple silent minutes passed, and Erwin walked in holding a few boxes of pizza. Levi had never seen so many boys move that fast to get a piece of pizza. 

~~~~

The next few days were spent at Eren’s apartment, with Eren, Levi and the groomsmen discussing the clothing for the wedding. 

“Let’s go in our birthday suits. Hahaha, holy shit. That would be so funny!” Connie piped up and looked at the others sitting in the living room. Jean was the only one to laugh. 

“I don’t want to wear a tuxedo. That’s going to be annoying as hell,” Jean complained about the attire they were going to wear. 

“Hey Jean,” Eren called out. Jean slowly turned his head towards Eren and asked, “What is it, Eren?” 

“I know horses usually don’t wear fancy clothes, but I think you can handle it for one day.” 

“What was that, Jaeger?,” Jean yelled as he grabbed Eren’s shirt with one hand while making a fist in the other. The two boys threw out more insults and threats. Levi let out a heavy sigh as the two kept on fighting. After a few more insults were spoken, Levi decided to break up the fight. 

“Oi, brats! Why don’t we wear tuxedos like Eren said earlier, and shut the fuck up? It’s not our wedding. If you don’t like it, get out right now because this bickering is getting pretty fucking annoying,” Levi barked at the boys. The room was silent as everyone looked at Levi with their jaws on the floor--except for Erwin, who was use to this kind of outburst from Levi. Jean and Eren sat back down, and silence filled the room. 

“Good, now that you guys are done. Let’s discuss the topic at hand,” Levi finished, and turned his attention to Eren. Eren cleared his throat, and began speaking again.

“OK, so I was thinking of having you guys wear tuxedos with vests and ties. The vest and tie would be a dark green color. If that color doesn't look good, then I will choose another color.” Eren looked at the men in the room “Any questions?”  
When no one spoke up, Eren nodded and started talking again.

“Good. Now who wants to play the Xbox?” Connie yelled “Hell yeah!” while Jean complained about people taking his kills. Marco laughed it off, while Reiner and Bertholdt got comfy on the floor, ready to watch the others play. Levi rubbed the bridge of his nose, showing how annoyed he was by all of this. Erwin nudged his shoulder, and reminded him that it would be over soon, well, depending on how long it takes Levi to make Eren fall in love with him. Levi turned his attention to Eren, who was currently getting the game ready. 

Levi wondered if he would have to deal with these boys if he actually ended up with Eren. It’s been over a week, and Levi wasn't sure if he could handle these hyped up kids any longer. As Levi watched Eren give the controllers to Connie and Jean, he realized it wouldn't matter. If he had to deal with these boys for a few months in order to be with Eren, then he would do it. Because in the end, it would all be worth it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanji, Erwin, Levi and Eren go out to eat with an unexpected guest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh dear god first off I am so sorry I didn't update for over a month! I had major writers block for this chapter. There is some good though: this chapter is over 3k words! Yay! Usually, a chapter is just over 1k. I wanted to get this chapter out as soon as possible, so right now it's probably filled with mistakes because I didn't let my sis read over it. 
> 
> Please enjoy!

~~One week later~~

Levi let out a content sigh as he placed himself on his couch with a hot cup of black tea in hand. He moved the towel positioned on his neck to his hair to dry off his undercut when his phone vibrated on the coffee table in front of him; letting him know he received a message. An irritated sigh made its way out of Levi’s mouth before he leaned forward to grab his phone. His fingers moved quickly as they typed in his password to reveal the message came from Hanji:

Hanji: Hello, Levi! What a wonderful night to go out to eat at MRS with your friends, don’t ya think? 

“Uh-huh, sure,” Levi spoke out loud in a sarcastic tone while typing his reply to Hanji. 

Levi: I think I’ll pass. 

He pressed a button on the side of his phone to lock it as he set the phone back on the coffee table. Levi moved the tea cup to his lips and took a sip, savoring the bitter taste that filled his mouth and the slow burn he felt from the hot liquid.

The sound of his cell phone vibrating pulled Levi out of his relaxation, and with a scowl, he picked his phone up and typed in his password with a little more force than before. 

Hanji: Come on! It’ll be fun! You, Erwin, and I eating yummy food and talking about the latest gossip. 

Levi rolled his eyes after he read the text and began typing another message. 

Levi: You and Erwin have fun with that. I’d rather stay home. 

Tossing his phone to the side, Levi starting drinking his tea as he reached for the remote to the tv. He turned the tv on and flicked through the channels looking for something that would peak his interest. With nothing interesting on, Levi settled for watching the news that was currently talking about a murder in a city nearby. 

Another vibration came from the dreaded cell phone, and Levi whispered curses to himself as his fingers thumped over the screen, typing in his password once again. Levi raised an eyebrow as he saw who the message was from. 

Erwin: You don’t really have a choice. 

‘Huh? What does that mean?’ Levi wondered while looking over the message. He shrugged it off and turned his attention back to the news playing on his tv. 

A few seconds passed before a series of loud knocks echoed from the front door. Another irritated sigh came out of Levi’s mouth while he made his way to the door to see who was interrupting his relaxing night. With a click of the lock, and turning the door handle, it was revealed who was the culprit. 

“LEEV-ack!” before Hanji could finish, she was pushed out of the way by Erwin, who stopped the door from slamming into her face. 

“I knew that was going to happen,” Erwin explained as he turned to Hanji, “And that’s why I told you to let me go first.” 

Hanji raised her hands up in the air “Alright, alright. Sorry, I’ll listen from now on!” She said in a playful tone. 

“I told you guys I didn't want to go,” Levi interrupted the two, “So, why are you here?” 

Erwin turned his attention to the shorter man, “Like I said in the text, you don’t have a choice. I knew you would object to the idea. While Hanji was texting you, I drove here.” 

“Isn't that a little creepy? I could see Hanji doing that, but you? That’s scary,” Levi voiced his opinion on the plan Erwin came up with. 

“I’m such an influence. I’m so proud!” Hanji giggled at Levi’s statement, who rolled his eyes to the response. 

“Well,” Erwin began, “I guess he doesn't want to go. We should probably get going,” Erwin spoke in a sad tone as he dragged Hanji away. 

Levi reached for the door handle, ready to shut the door on the odd duo before Erwin added in, “Eren’s going to be upset.”

“What?” Levi asked as his hand froze on the door handle. 

“Oh, we didn't tell you?” Erwin spoke in a cool tone as he glanced over at Hanji, who was wearing a crazy smile. 

Hanji continued the explanation in a teasing tone, “We invited Eren. He was going to meet us there.”

Levi’s eyebrow twitched, “No, you failed to mention this.” 

“But, you decided you didn't want to go. We don’t want to keep Eren waiting. See ya Levi!” Hanji waved her hand as she and Erwin began to walk away. 

“Wait!” Levi called out. Hanji and Erwin stopped in their tracks and turned around, both wearing the same mischievous smirk.

Levi’s current glare would make anyone’s skin crawl and have others fleeing, but Hanji and Erwin had grown accustomed to the death stare. 

“You fuckers, stay right there. I’ll be out in a few seconds,” Levi growled to Hanji and Erwin before shutting the door. 

Erwin held his hand out to Hanji, “Nice work.”

“Right back at’cha!” Hanji praised with a laugh as she gave Erwin a high five. 

~~~~

The trio arrived at MRS and were seated at a long table with six seats--seeing as the place was busy and that was the only table available. Erwin informed their waiter that they were waiting for one more person as the waiter asked everyone what they wanted to drink. 

The waiter left, and came back a few seconds later with: A coke for Hanji, a glass of water for Erwin, and tea for Levi. After handing out the menus, the waiter left the three, saying he would return once the last person arrived.

Levi held the rim of the tea glass as he drank the contents in it, grateful that he at least got some tea out of all this. Levi looked to his left at Hanji, then to the right at Erwin, before speaking up. 

“So, who was the one that came up with the bright idea to get me out of my house?” 

“Pfft,” Hanji sounded. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Erwin added while taking a sip from his glass of water.

“Oh don’t give me that bullshit. You both wore the same constipated look after I decided to go,” Levi argued. 

“I don’t remember feeling constipated. You must’ve been seeing things,” Hanji joked. 

“..Is he coming?” Levi questioned in a quiet tone. 

Hanji patted Levi’s back, “Yes he is. We wouldn't lie about that.” 

“You have to give us more credit than that, Levi,” Erwin told Levi, who only responded with a nod. 

The chime of a bell went off, and Hanji took her phone from her pocket to check the text she got. Her face lit up as she read over the message. 

“Eren’s here!”

Levi’s eyes lit up upon hearing the news, although his face kept it’s bored expression, “About time.”

“Would you like me to move so Eren can sit by you?” Erwin teased. 

Levi rolled his eyes, “No. I don’t care where he sits.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll move for ya!” Hanji cackled as she stood up. Levi reached up and yanked the crazy woman back into her seat.

“Shitty four-eyes,” Levi mumbled into his tea cup before taking a sip. 

Hanji pointed in the direction of the doors in the restaurant, “Here he comes.” 

Levi followed her finger, leading to the waiter walking toward the table with Eren in tow and another person Levi didn't recognize. 

“Hey guys!” Eren greeted as a wide grin came across his face. 

Standing next to Eren was none other than his fiancee--Stefan. Both Hanji and Erwin looked at Levi, who tightened his grip on the tea cup in his hand, and was delivering a murderous look to Stefan. Stefan raised his chin, and looked down on the three as if he were better than them. 

Hanji broke the growing tension, “Eren, hello dear! It’s so nice to see you!” 

“Nice to see you, Eren,” Erwin also greeted with a smile. 

“Hey,” Levi replied in a bored tone. Hanji motioned the couple to sit as she brought her phone out of her pocket. Her fingers typed a quick message before setting her phone on the table, turning her attention to Eren and Stefan. 

“So, I haven’t had the pleasure to meet you yet! What’s your name?” Hanji asked Eren’s fiancee.

Stefan did a quick once over on Hanji, and sneering before replying, “Stefan.”

Levi’s phone vibrated in his pocket, and he proceeded to take it out while Hanji got her introductions out of the way.

Hanji: Jeez you’re killing me with that aurora your letting off. Relax! 

‘Good,’ Levi typed out before locking his phone and returning it to his pocket. Hanji’s ringtone went off again, and she brought her phone out. A few seconds went by before she squinted her eyes and looked at Levi, clearly mad at his response. 

The waiter arrived at their table with two extra menus for Eren and Stefan, and pardoned himself again, giving everyone time to look over the menus. 

“I don’t know about you guys,” Hanji started speaking, “But I’m actually not that hungry. The cakes look amazing though!” 

“I was thinking the same thing!” Eren chimed in while skimming the menu, “I was thinking of getting the triple chocolate cake.” 

Hanji bounced in her seat, “That sounds so good! But what about the red velvet cake?” 

“The cheese cake looks good too,” Erwin pointed out, “Now, what topping? Blueberries, Strawberries? Chocolate?” 

“Strawberries!” Hanji and Eren blurted out at the same time. 

Hanji turned her attention to Levi, “Alright, Levi, what are you going to get?” 

Levi’s eyes wandered the menu for a few seconds before deciding on something, “Coffee cake.” 

“Awe, ew. Party pooper!” Hanji joked, making Eren and Erwin laugh. 

“Typical of Levi, can’t have anything sweet,” Erwin reminded.

“I can have sweet things, I just don’t choose to,” Levi shot back. 

Eren turned his attention to Stefan, who was staring at everyone with a look of disgust. 

“Stefan, what are you going to get?” Eren asked in a gentle voice as he rubbed Stefan’s shoulder. 

“Fries,” Was his small reply while letting the menu fall in front of him. 

Levi watched as Eren kept his hand on Stefan’s shoulder. And oh how he wished he could move Stefan out of the way and take his spot next to Eren, having him rub his shoulder with gentle, caring, loving touches. 

His thoughts were interrupted as the waiter arrived, notepad out and pen in hand ready to take orders. Hanji, Eren and Erwin ordered the cakes they were drooling over earlier while Levi ordered his coffee cake and Stefan his fries. Within minutes their food was brought out to them--since everyone but Stefan ordered dessert. 

Once everyone had their food in front of them, Hanji, Eren and Erwin began cutting up their cakes into sections, and swapping pieces with each other, making sure they had a piece of each type of cake. 

Stefan gave everyone a weird look after they settled down, “What are you guys doing?”

“Oh, I never told you about our ‘tradition,’ did I?” Eren questioned Stefan, who shook his head in response. 

“I don’t know when it started, but after I became friends with Hanji and Erwin, we would each order something we all agreed on, and share it with each other. That gave us more options to choose from instead of having to pick out one thing or order more than one thing. See?” Eren motioned down to his plate, which had a piece of triple chocolate cake, red velvet cake, and cheese cake with some strawberries drizzled on top 

Hanji pointed her fork toward Levi, “He never participates, though. Too much of a clean freak.” 

Levi opened his mouth to reply before he was cut off by Eren, “Speaking of that! Levi,” Eren started as he cut some of his chocolate cake, “Take some, this one time. Please?” 

Levi looked at the cake, and back at Eren, who was trying a little too hard on giving Levi the puppy dog eyes. His piercing gray eyes focused on the glowing ocean colored eyes sitting in front of him, cherishing the little time he had to look at those eyes he loved so much. 

“...Fine,” Levi replied while pushing his plate forward to receive the piece of cake. Eren let a big smile appear on his face before putting the piece of cake onto Levi’s plate. 

“Stefan, don’t you want any?” Erwin wondered out loud. 

Stefan shook his head while dunking a fry in ketchup. Eren turned to Erwin, “He doesn't like sweet stuff.” 

Erwin’s mouth formed an ‘o’ shape, nodding his head as he understood. 

Silence fell over the table as everyone worked on eating their food, with the exception of Hanji and Eren commenting on how delicious the cakes were. 

Levi looked around at everyone, seeing that they were overjoyed with the sweet desserts--except for Stefan, who was eating his fries with a scowl on his face. ‘Well,’ Levi thought to himself, ‘Let’s see if I can start a conversation with the guy.’

“So,” Levi began, “Stefan-” (Steh-fan).

“It’s Stefan,” Stefan spat out in a sassy tone while giving Levi a baffled look (Stah-fawn). 

Levi’s eyebrow twitched as he glared at Stefan with pure hatred ‘Damn bastard’s lucky I even remembered his name, let alone tried to talk to him,’ Levi told himself.

“Excuse me, my bad,” Levi hissed at the pretentious man. 

Stefan rolled his eyes as he took another fry from his plate, “Whatever.”

At that moment, Hanji, Erwin and Eren shared the same look--mouth hung open in shock and eyes about to pop out from disbelief. They each looked at each other, silently trying to find a solution to bring down the growing tension.

“Ah, Levi! You didn't eat the cake I gave you! Try it, now!” Eren babbled as he motioned toward the untouched cake with his fork, plastering a fake smile on his face to hide his worry. 

Levi looked at the cake, and back at Eren before letting out a small sigh, grabbing his fork to eat the small piece of cake. He scooped up the small amount of cake given to him, and placed it in his mouth, slowly chewing as everyone--but Stefan’s--eyes were on him, waiting for a response. 

With an audible gulp, Levi swallowed the chocolate cake and set his fork down on his plate, letting the anticipation grow for his ‘audience.’

“Not bad,” He finally announced as he picked up his tea cup, drinking the now cool liquid. 

Erwin, Eren and Hanji finally let out a noisy breath they were holding through the entire scenario, waiting to see what Levi’s response was going to be. 

Stefan coughed loudly into his hand, turning all the attention to him, “Eren, can I speak to you, alone?” The blond man asked as he stood up from the table, walking away from the group. 

“Uh, yea sure,” Eren answered before turning to the trio, “I’ll be right back!” With that, Eren stood up, and followed Stefan towards the exit. 

“Well, that was unpleasant,” Hanji was the first to speak as soon as she was sure the couple were a good distance away. 

“You can say that again,” Erwin agreed while finishing the last piece of cake he had left. 

Hanji glanced over at Levi, “How are you holding up?” 

“I was doing ok until he started acting like a smart ass. Even if he wasn't with Eren, I wouldn't like the guy,” Levi informed the two.

“Mhm, I don’t like him either. He seems too cocky, like he is better than everyone else,” Erwin complained. 

Hanji nodded her head, “Exactly! I wonder what Eren see’s in him? Cause Eren is too good for someone like that. Isn't that right, Levi?” Hanji laughed, playfully nudging Levi’s shoulder. 

“Don’t rub on me,” Levi nagged while brushing off his shoulder. 

Eren returned to the table, alone, “Well, Stefan wants to head home. He has a few errands to run early in the morning.” 

“Awe, ok! Well, we had fun, didn’t we guys?” Hanji said with a grin as she elbowed Levi, making sure he didn’t say anything rude. 

Levi grunted at the sudden blow, “Fun. So much fun,” He gritted through his teeth. 

“Yeah, let’s get together again sometime,” Erwin added in.

“OK, sounds good!” Eren said, although he didn't move from his spot, “Actually, before I go. Levi, could I talk to you for a second?” 

Hanji jumped from her spot, “Oh I need to pay the bill! Don’t worry, Levi, I’ll pay for yours!” 

“I almost forgot. I will pay for yours also, Eren, and Stefan’s. Have a good night.” Erwin spoke as he waved at the two, leaving Levi and Eren alone at the table. 

Levi blinked a few times, trying to process what just happened, before glancing at Eren, “What did you want to talk about?” 

“I just wanted to apologize for Stefan’s behavior earlier. I know he doesn't like you, but I never-”

“Wait,” Levi interrupted Eren, “He doesn't like me?”

Eren nodded his head and began rubbing the back of his neck nervously, “Yeah, after I introduced you to him, he hasn’t liked you. And he won’t tell me why, so I’m as confused as you are. Just now he even told me to stop being friends with you,” Eren’s eyes looked to the ground as he admitted the last part. 

Levi’s heart started racing while thoughts of losing Eren played out in his head. ‘No, please,’ He pleaded to himself. 

“What was your response?” Levi managed to say. 

Eren gave Levi a look filled with disbelief, “I told him you’re one of my close friends, and that I wasn't going to stop being your friend because he wants me to. Levi, I would never give up our friendship for someone else. Please know that.” 

Levi slowly nodded before responding, “Eren, does he trust you?”

“I think he does….?” Eren huffed, “I don’t know… Why?” 

“You should probably talk to him about that. From what I’m seeing, he doesn't trust you, and that is a key factor in a relationship. Especially in a serious relationship, like the one you have with him. If he wants you to stop being friends with someone because he doesn't like that person, that means he doesn't trust you.” 

“Part of a relationship and loving someone is putting all of your trust in them. They become your rock, your anchor, your person to go to when things become rough, and someone to share special moments with--big or small. Trust isn't about keeping secrets like we learn in elementary school, it’s so much more than that.” 

“You’re going to devote your life to this man when that wedding ring is slipped onto your finger, but if there isn't any trust, the ring becomes a simple golden ban on your finger. No trust leads to an unstable relationship,” Levi finished his speech while standing up from his chair.

“Eren,” Levi’s cold gray eyes locked with bright turquoise, “I trust you. Please know that.”

Eren’s cheeks became tinted with a light pink, and a cheerful smirk appeared on his face, “OK, thank you, Levi.”

“I’m going to go see if Hanji and Erwin actually paid for our stuff,” Levi changed the subject, walking away from the table.

“I’ll come with!” Eren caught up with Levi, who waved his hand at the young man.

“It’s fine, go. Don’t keep him waiting.” 

Eren nodded his head eagerly, “Right. I’ll see you soon!” Eren bid farewell with a wave as he walked out the door, leaving Levi alone in the restaurant. 

~~~~

Levi pulled out his phone, preparing to call for a cab before spotting Hanji and Erwin waiting in Erwin’s car outside the restaurant. Levi let out a small sigh of relief, thankful that they didn't take off without him, and force him to ride in a nauseating taxi. 

“Shocked you guys didn't take off without me,” Levi spoke while opening up the car door and planting himself on the tan cushioned seat in the back. 

Hanji giggled, “Of course not! We’re not that horrible, are we Erwin?” 

Erwin shook his head and started the car, “So, what did you and Eren talk about?” Erwin questioned as he turned onto the street. 

“Just some stuff, that’s all,” Levi said, not revealing much. 

“Was it good or bad?” Erwin asked as he stopped at a stoplight, blinker flicking on and off waiting to turn. 

Levi’s lips formed a small smirk, “I think it was good.”

“That’s great to hear!” Hanji jumped into the conversation again. Levi rolled his eyes at the crazy woman as the car picked up speed, bringing Levi closer to home. 

~~~~

Shortly after, Levi arrived home and went to his room to strip out of his clothes for something a little more comfortable. He settled for a loose white long sleeved shirt and black sweat pants before making his way back into his kitchen to remake his black tea he had to part with earlier. 

With his tea fresh, and comfy pajamas, Levi settled on his couch again, sipping his bitter tea and flicking through tv channels.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren, Levi and the other groomsmen go to a bridal shop, in search for what the groomsmen will wear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter! I notice as I continue writing, the characters become more out of character. So there might be some OOC. And things kinda move fast in this chapter because I can't write realistic stuff for the life of me. Anyway, this chapter is unedited because my sister has been really busy, so feel free to let me know if there are any mistakes! 
> 
> Please enjoy!

~~Five days later~~

Shifting the car to park, Levi shut off the engine to his car, silence filling the small vehicle. Levi took his phone out to check the name of the bridal shop Eren told him to go to, and looked to see if it matched the one he was currently at. The bridal shop he was currently parked at was the only one Levi knew of, so that was the first place he decided to go. 

After confirming he was at the right shop, Levi took his empty coffee cup and proceeded to leave the car. He shut the door behind him, and locked the car, sounding it’s signature ‘beep’ to let the driver know the alarm was activated. 

Upon entering the shop, Levi threw away his styrofoam cup in the garbage can near the entryway and took off his shoes as a sign instructed all customers to do before going further into the shop. He walked up a ramp leading through two more doors--the official entrance to the bridal shop. 

All Levi could see was white. Various white dresses, shoes, and earrings, were on display everywhere in the shop. Levi walked further into the shop, hoping to find an end to all the white, but not finding an end in sight. 

A tap on his shoulder startled him, making him flinch in defense. With a scowl, he turned around to face whoever it was that scared him, only to find Eren towering over him. 

“Hey, Levi! Sorry, did I scare you?” He asked with a small laugh. 

“No, not at all,” Levi replied with a bored tone while looking around at all the wedding dresses scattered about the shop. 

Levi glanced at a dress, then to Eren, “Are you picking out a dress?” He questioned the young man. 

Eren’s cheeks turned a bright red, “What? No! What makes you think that?”

Levi’s eyes looked left, motioning over to all the dresses surrounding them. 

Eren rolled his eyes, the wheels turning in his head as he figured out what Levi meant, “No, this is the dress department. Tuxedos are this way, if you would follow me.” 

Eren gave Levi a small smile before turning on his heels and walking in the opposite direction, with Levi following close behind. They passed a few mannequins sporting dresses, and puffy dresses on racks before going through a hallway, leading to the tuxedo department. 

Mannequins displaying different colors of tuxedos greeted Eren and Levi as they entered. Vests and ties hung from racks or were on mannequins along with various coats and dress pants. 

A tug on his arm halted Levi’s eyes from wandering anymore. 

“The other groomsmen are trying on some tuxedos; it’s this way,” Eren informed the shorter man while pulling him along by the arm. 

If it was any other person, Levi would've yanked his arm away and walked ahead, finding his way on his own. But his was Eren: the man Levi loved and was trying to win over before his time ran out. 

Levi stared at the back of Eren’s head before his eyes wandered to the hand gripping his forearm. ‘This could be the closest I ever get to Eren,’ Levi thought briefly before shaking his head to get rid of the thought. No, he didn't want to think about that--the thought of losing Eren, especially to that dick named Stefan. 

Levi didn't care what had to be done, he was determined to be with Eren. 

“Levi,” Eren said, pulling Levi out of his thoughts, “Are you feeling alright?” He asked with a concerned tone. 

“Yeah, what makes you think that?” Levi wondered. 

Eren let go of Levi’s arm to turn and face the black haired man, “You looked really sad just now.”

“I’m fine,” Levi replied as he tried maneuvering himself around Eren to walk away from the pointless conversation. 

Eren placed his hands on Levi’s shoulders, stopping the short man from going any further, “Levi,” Eren bent down a little, locking his eyes with Levi’s, “You said you trusted me.”

“I do,” Levi spoke clear as day.

“Then why won’t you tell me what’s wrong? There has to be something wrong, and it must be bad seeing that you didn't hide your emotions like you usually do.”

Levi let out a little sigh, “Eren, it’s nothing. Really. There’s nothing wrong.” 

‘Other than the fact that I love you, and you standing so close to me that it’s making my head spin,’ Levi told himself, not daring to say that outloud. 

“Are you sure?” Eren questioned, voice laced with worry.

“Yes, I am,” Levi answered, “And thanks for asking. It…” His voice became soft, “It means a lot to me.” 

Eren smiled, letting his arms fall from Levi’s shoulders and standing up straight, “Of course! You’re one of my best friends, after all.” 

It felt like a stake ripped through Levi’s chest, causing him imaginary pain. 

Friend zoned at its finest. 

“Alright,” Eren started, “the others are around this corner, trying on suits,” Eren’s voice trailed off, “Although it hasn't been going well.” 

Levi raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean by that?” 

Eren lead the way forward to the dressing room.

Jean’s voice echoed through the dressing room, greeting Eren and Levi. 

“Reiner! Don’t move or you’re going to rip the damn shirt!” 

Connie’s voice followed soon after, “Hahah, you look like the hulk!” 

Standing in front of a three angled mirror was: Reiner sporting an all too tight dress shirt, Jean next to him, trying to carefully take off the small shirt, and Connie serving as their audience, laughing away at their expense. 

Not too far away stood Marco and Bertolt, comparing different colored dress shirts with different colored ties. 

“So here’s the situation,” Eren began explaining, “Reiner thinks he can fit into these small dress shirts, but clearly he can’t,” Eren motioned over to the trio still having shirt problems.

“And,” Eren pointed a finger toward Marco and Bertolt, “We can’t find anything that matches well. I had some colors in mind, but they didn't look too good,” Eren finished with a tired sigh. 

Levi looked around at the groomsmen, “Aren't we missing someone?”

“Erwin. He told me he would be a little late, but he should be here soon.” 

“Alright. Well for starters, you can ask an employee to measure Reiner so we know what his size is, instead of trying to rip up every shirt in sight,” Levi recommended to Eren.

‘Why didn't I think of that?’ Eren thought while hitting the palm of his hand to his forehead. 

Levi smirked at the childish reaction, and continued talking, “And what colors were you thinking of?”

“Well,” Eren looked around nervously, “Anything with black or white. I don’t really have a specific color in mind.” 

Levi nodded his head as a quiet reply before continuing, “Did you want us in tuxedos, vests and ties, or just dress shirts with ties?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. If I would have planned this better, we wouldn't be going through this,” Eren admitted with a sullen look. 

“Hey,” Levi’s hand reached out to Eren’s shoulder, giving him a little shake, “It’s going to be alright. We’ll figure this out together, OK?” Levi reassured.

‘Smooth, Levi. Real smooth.’ Levi cringed in his head, ‘What cheesy romance movie was that from?’

The cheesy line seemed to do the trick, because Eren’s bright, excited grin was plastered on his face while he looked at Levi with glowing eyes.

“You’re right! Thanks Levi!” 

Levi gave Eren a small, gentle, smile before turning away to look at the wide variety of: coats, ties, shirts, and pants--trying to find something Eren would like. He took a black coat with slacks, and matched it with a red tie and white dress shirt, deciding to start with something basic, and work from there. 

“Eren,” Levi beckoned, “What about this?” Levi asked as he held up the pieces of clothing in his hands.

Eren studied the articles of clothing before giving his head a little shake. 

“Do you not like these?” Levi questioned, lowering the clothes in his arms a little. 

“No, that isn't the problem,” Eren denied with another shake of his head.

Levi tilted his head to the size and raised an eyebrow in confusion, “Then, what’s wrong?” 

Eren scratched his head and let his eyes wander around the dressing room, “It’s kind of hard to explain. I can’t see those going together with you holding them up. I can’t visualize how they would look on someone.” 

They sat in silence for a couple of seconds until Levi’s eyes lit up, as an idea came to mind. 

“Oh Eren,” Levi started with a light sigh followed by a teasing smirk, “You should have told me you wanted me to model for you.” 

Instantly, Eren’s eyes widened and his cheeks were dyed a deep red, giving away how embarrassed he was by the accusation. He tried explaining that he didn't mean it like that, but the only thing making its way out of his mouth were a series of stuttered “Ah’s” and “No’s” followed by “That’s not-.” 

Levi quickly turned on his heels and made his way to an empty room, not giving the flustered man a chance to explain himself. 

Shutting the door behind him in a quick fashion, Levi started hanging each piece of clothing on a hook or bar in the dressing room, making sure they were wrinkle free. After everything was hanging and on display in front of him, Levi let out a sigh while running his hand through his thin, black hair. 

‘Like you told yourself earlier: anything to be with Eren,’ Levi reminded himself as he began stripping his current attire in favor of the suit hanging in front of him. 

Waiting outside the small dressing room, Eren paced back and forth, running his fingers through his hair roughly, causing strands to stick out in different directions. With his other hand, Eren nibbled the skin on the end of his thumb--a nervous gesture he developed when he was a kid. 

“Hello, Eren,” Erwin greeted from behind, making the nervous wreck jump forward with a yelp, “Oh, hey. Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you,” Erwin reassured with his hand raised in the air. 

“It’s fine, not your fault,” Eren waved it off as he evened out his breathing. 

Erwin squinted his eyes at Eren, “Is there something bothering you? You look a little on edge.” 

“Hahah…. funny you should mention that, cause you see-” Eren didn't have time to finish his sentence as the dresser door opened. 

There stood Levi, with a black vest that hugged his stomach well, and a white dress shirt accompanied by a red tie tucked into the vest. Black dress pants matched the vest and tuxedo coat Levi held behind his back with his pointer finger. 

Eren’s eyes widened, but not from embarrassment. It was something else. Admiration? Respect? Amazement? 

‘Levi looks… good,’ Eren thought to himself as he let his eyes roam Levi’s outfit, ‘Really good.’ 

Eren blinked a couple of times, trying to get rid of those thoughts. But Levi wasn’t making it any easier as he slowly turned his body in a full circle, letting Eren view every part of the outfit.

“So,” Levi asked in a tone lower than usual, “Just the vest? Or,” Levi slowly slipped on the coat, and turned again, “Coat also?” 

“Uhh…” Was Eren’s reply with his jaw hanging down. With a rough shake of his head, Eren snapped out of his daze, “Without the coat looks great. I-I mean, they both look great, but you look- I mean it looks better without the coat,” Eren stammered with pink cheeks. 

Levi smiled, knowing he--and, hopefully, only he--could make Eren this flustered and cute, cause Levi had to admit, Eren was very adorable when embarrassed. The way the color of his cheeks turn instantly red or pink, and how that color change enhances those round ocean colored eyes of his. The look of confusion and embarrassment when he stutters--trying to make words that out of know where seem foreign--was also very appealing to Levi. 

Levi nodded, and returned the coat to it’s hanger--making sure it was clear of wrinkles and fuzz--before exiting the dressing room again, “And what about the tie? Do you like the color?”

Eren bit his lower lip, “Could… Would you mind trying on a different color? I-I mean if that’s fine with you!” 

“It’s more than fine,” Levi told Eren as his hand ghosted up Eren’s arm, resting on Eren’s shoulder and giving a gentle squeeze before walking away to find different colored ties and vests. 

Erwin watched Levi leave, and turned to Eren, “I’ll go help him.”

Eren gave a small nod in reply as Erwin caught up to Levi. Eren rubbed his arm that Levi touched not too long ago, and let out a shaky breath. ‘It was only a simple touch, but why won’t my heart slow down?’ Eren wondered with a squeeze to his arm, trying to stop the small tingle left behind. 

With a few strides, Erwin easily caught up with Levi.

“So, what was that stunt you pulled back there, Mr. Model?” 

“Oh shut it,” Levi rolled his eyes, “Eren needed help, so I helped him.”

Erwin chuckled, “By modeling?” 

“Yep,” Levi said, popping the ‘p’ at the end, stopping at a section of ties in different shades of blue.

“I never thought I would see that. You really do love him, huh?” 

Levi stayed silent while he browsed the ties.

“I’m not saying it’s a bad thing,” Erwin pointed out.

“I know,” Levi spoke as he reached for a couple of ties.

Erwin let out a laugh, “Oh I get it. You were giving me the silent treatment because I was right.”

Levi’s movements faltered for a second before he resumed his actions, ignoring Erwin again. 

“I was right.” 

He nearly dodged a turquoise tie coming at his face. 

~~~~

Standing behind hangers of coats were the other groomsmen, crouching a bit to stay hidden from Levi and Erwin. 

“So, wait,” Connie whispered to the others, “Levi likes Eren?” 

“Noooo,” Jean held out the ‘o,’ “It’s not like they just got done talking about it right in front of us!” 

Marco held a hand up, “Guys, stop it before they hear us!” 

The men continued to stand there until Erwin and Levi walked farther into the store, putting more distance between them. 

“What are you guys doing?” Eren asked, standing behind the group.

They all jumped at the sudden appearance.

“Oh, hey Eren!” Bertolt greeted with a nervous wave. 

Jean pointed his thumb behind him, “Dude, did you know that Levi-” Jean was cut off by Marco throwing his hand in front of Jean’s mouth, silencing him.

“That Levi is doing a way better job at this then we are!” Marco finished while giving Jean a scolding look. 

Eren looked at the groomsmen with confusion and worry written on his face, “Um, OK then. Whatever you say,” Eren’s eyes stopped on Reiner, “Reiner, where is your shirt?”

Everyone turned their head to see Reiner standing without a shirt on, showing off his rather large, buff muscles and six-pack. 

“I couldn't find my size,” Reiner responded.

Eren shook his head while rubbing the bridge of his nose with his pointer finger and thumb, “Whatever, let’s see if an employee can measure you and get this over with.”

~~~~

After some more modeling from Levi, Eren was able to pick out what he wanted: A white dress shirt with a black vest and slacks followed by a light blue tie. 

With all the groomsmen’s sizes recorded and the order placed, everyone decided to go home as they had overstayed their welcome in the store. 

Just as Levi made it to his car, Eren waved him down, stopping him from leaving. Levi waited patiently as Eren jogged to him.

“Thank you for today,” Eren blurted as soon as he stopped running. 

“For the modeling or the clothes?” Levi teased, making Eren blush once more.

“No! For the clothes. I don’t think we would've made much progress without you,” Eren paused for a few seconds, building up courage for his next line, “And the sight wasn't too bad.”

Levi’s eyes widened a little from shock, but returned to their normal size as he turned his head to Eren, locking eyes with the young man, “Oh, really now?” 

Eren coughed, “Uh, oh shit I gotta go! See ya Levi,” Eren threw out a quick wave as he took off in the opposite direction toward his car. 

Levi smiled--a genuine smile--as he watched Eren sprint to his car, waiting for Eren to get in the car before leaving.

Once Eren started his car, Levi repeated the same action: getting in his car and starting it before he drove out of the parking lot. 

Huddled together once again, the remaining groomsmen--minus Erwin--confirmed what they overheard earlier. 

“Oh yea, Levi definitely likes him,” Reiner confirmed.

Jean rolled his eyes, “And of course, the dumb ass is too obvious to see that Levi is courting him.” 

“Well, good things come to those that wait,” Marco added in with a shrug. 

“Should we tell Eren?” Connie asked. 

“I don’t think we should,” Bertolt put in.

Marco nodded his head, “I agree. Hopefully he will find out sooner or later, and without one of us slipping,” Marco looked over at Jean.

“Yea, sorry, didn't know we were keeping it a secret.” 

Marco faced the rest of his friends, “No telling Eren, alright?” 

Everyone nodded and hummed in agreement before going their separate ways.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren looks for his tuxedo, the groomsmen talk to Levi, and someone's sick!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa, holy almost 3 months without an update! I'm so sorry everyone! I've been really busy with school and work and haven't had anytime to myself. I can't guarantee that this won't happen again, but I will try to update as often as I can. Thank you guys for being so patient and supportive. You have no idea how grateful I am! Also, thanks 8fangirl8 for the suggestion! I used it on the second part of the chapter. Not edited, I think my sister forgot about this story. Oh! And there is some German text in this chapter, but I had to use Google, because I don't know German. So if you are a German speaker and find any mistakes with the German text, let me know! 
> 
> Please enjoy!

~~29 days until the wedding~~

“So, which one? White or black?” Eren asked his groomsmen as he held out two different colored tuxedo coats. 

The groomsmen sat in silence while looking over the two coats hanging in front of them. After some time, Levi spoke up. 

“The black one,” The short man stated, which got hums of agreement out of the others.

“White doesn't seem to fit you as well as black would,” Marco added. 

Eren nodded his head before putting down the white coat in favor of the black one, “That’s what I thought too.”

“Huh?” Jean blurted out, “What do you mean? Why bring out the white one then if you liked black better?” 

“Because,” Eren hesitated on his reply, “Stefan wants me to wear white while he wears black. You know, like the bride wears her white dress while the groom is in a black tux.”

Levi shook his head, “If you want to wear black, then wear black. You don’t have to listen to him.”

“I know, but, I want to make him happy,” Eren replied in a quiet voice.

“Do what makes you happy, not him,” Levi retorted. 

Erwin joined in, “Do whatever feels right, Eren. We will have your back, Ok?” 

Eren nodded, taking the black coat back into the dressing room to put it with the dress shirt and pants that went along with the tuxedo. 

A few seconds passed before Eren stepped out of the dressing room, sporting the black tuxedo with matching black slacks and vest, and a white dress shirt. A black tie was wrapped loosely around his neck. 

“Why isn't your tie on right?” Levi questioned as he noticed it. 

Eren messed with the tie, “Because I don’t like ties. And I can’t really tie them right; they always look funny.” 

Levi rose from his seat, and made his way towards Eren, “Here, let me show you how to tie it.” 

“What? No! I got it,” Eren exclaimed, turning his back on Levi. 

“No you don’t, you just told me you can’t.” Levi reminded the brunette as he tried facing Eren, who kept turning away. 

“Why you little…” Levi hissed, trying to pry Eren’s hands away from the tie. 

Eren looked down at Levi, “I’m not the one whose little here,” He said in a hushed voice. 

In an instant, Levi had Eren’s tie in hand, and pulled him down to look him in the eye, “Say that again, I didn't quite hear it.” 

“Ahahah, what? I didn't say anything!” Eren babbled with a scared look on his face. 

“Good,” Levi released the tie, and gave Eren a little push on the shoulder, “Now, stand up straight,” He commanded. 

Eren complied, and listened to Levi, who began to give step-by-step instructions, with demonstations, on how to tie a tie correctly. 

Erwin watched the two interact, and gave a small smirk before something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. 

Next to him, the other groomsmen were pointing and silently giggling and smiling at the duo. 

‘Weird. Why are they acting like that?’ Erwin thought to himself. He shook his head, pushing away the lingering thought. 

After Eren’s tie lesson was over with, he took the suit to the counter, purchasing it for his big day that was approaching fast. 

Eren said his goodbyes to the groomsmen, leaving with his newly purchased tuxedo and a wide grin. 

As Levi started walking away, a hand on his shoulder stopped him from leaving. When Levi turned around to see who it was, he found Marco was the one who stopped him, and the other groomsmen were standing behind him--except Erwin, who stood near Levi and was as confused as him.

“Hey,” Marco addressed in a gentle voice, “We wanted to talk to you for a second, if that’s ok with you.” 

Levi looked over to Erwin, who shrugged in return. 

“Yeah, sure,” Levi answered, turning toward the group. 

Marco let go of Levi’s shoulder, and coughed into his hand, “We wanted to tell you that we know you like Eren.” 

Levi looked at the group with his normal expression, while Erwin’s eyes widened at the accusation. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Levi answered in a bored tone. 

“Dude,” Connie joined in, “You don’t have to lie. We know.” 

Bertolt nodded his head, “We overheard you and Erwin talking about it the last time we were here.” 

“And it’s also obvious that you’re trying to court him,” Reiner added in.

Jean let out an annoyed sigh, “Yea, but he’s too much of an idiot to realize it.” 

“What we are trying to get at by telling you this is, that we know, and we want to help because we are on your side,” Marco informed Levi with a smile. 

Levi blinked his eyes a couple of times, trying to process what he had just heard, before shaking his head a little, and replying “Thanks for the support..? But how do you plan on helping me with this?” 

Connie opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out, seeing as he stopped himself from speaking. A confused look was plastered on his face while he looked around at the other groomsmen, seeking an answer. 

“Well… Uh..” Reiner tried explaining, but ended up in the same situation as Connie. 

“We can figure it out when the time comes,” Bertolt pointed out, to which all the groomsmen nodded their heads, agreeing to the statement. 

“All we know is that we would rather see you and Eren together, rather than Eren and Stefan (Stay-fen), or however the hell you pronounce his stupid name,” Jean declared with a huff. 

Erwins thick eyebrows shot up in shock, “Wait… You guys don’t like Stefan either?” 

Reiner was the first to reply, “Yeah, he’s a dick. I don’t know what Eren sees in the damn guy.” 

“He’s so rude to Eren, but Eren doesn't seem to notice it,” Marco added in, “And I know Stefan comes from a wealthy family, so maybe that’s why Eren is with him?” Marco finished with a questioning tone. 

“That better not be the case,” Levi growled before turning his head away from the groomsmen, blinking a couple of times and letting out a sigh, “I could give him so much more,” Levi barely whispered. 

An awkward silence fell over the group of men.

“So,” Marco broke the silence, “We will be going now. Remember, we’re here for you!” Marco finished with a wave as the group left the store, leaving behind Levi and Erwin. 

The two men stood in silence for a few seconds before Levi spoke up, “Well, I don’t know what just happened, but I’m heading home. See ya,” Levi said as he walked away, throwing his hand in the air as a wave. 

~~26 days until the wedding~~

“Hmm.. Which one?” Levi spoke to himself while holding up two different shirts, comparing one to the other. Today Levi was going to meet Eren at a local church to look at some locations Eren was thinking of to have the wedding at. 

A slight look of annoyance crossed Levi’s face as he battled with the two shirts; one being an ordinary dark gray t shirt, and the other being a dark green button up shirt. He didn’t want to go overboard with his outfit, but he was going to a church--God’s house. 

“Fuck it,” Levi spit out, hanging up the button up shirt in favor of the t shirt. Levi quickly slipped on the article of clothing and pulled a pair of jeans and black sneakers to finish the outfit. With a quick glance in the mirror, and some fixing of the hair, he left his house. 

Arriving a bit early, Levi looked around the entrance of the church but found no sign of Eren anywhere. With a small huff, Levi decided to take a seat on the steps leading up to the church and wait for Eren to arrive. 

Time moved slowly as Levi waited for Eren to arrive. He watched the different cars drive by, all the people gathering near the church for activities unknown, and his phone for a text. Five minutes late soon turned into ten, fifteen, twenty, and thirty before Levi stood up from his comfortable spot on the concrete stairs.

‘Where the hell is he?’ Levi whispered out loud as he went back to his car. Sitting in his car, Levi took out his phone, and scrolled through his contacts looking for Eren’s number. Levi jabbed the screen harder than necessary, calling the late young man. As the phone began ringing, Levi tapped his steering wheel with his free hand to try and distract him from the unexpected anxiety. 

The phone went to voice-mail after a few more rings. 

Levi pulled his phone away from him as if it had burned him, and tried to call again, but with no avail. ‘Something has to be wrong. He would've picked up by now,’ Levi told himself while making a text message addressed to Eren, letting Eren know he was gonna stop by his place. Levi stared at his phone for a few seconds, hoping for something: a reply or even a call back. No such thing came. He tossed his phone into the passenger seat before starting his car, making his way to Eren’s place. 

Arriving at Eren’s apartment, Levi took a deep breath before he smacked his fist on the door three times, each knock exposing his growing worry. Levi held his breath as he listened for footsteps.

Nothing but silence greeted him. 

“Eren,” Levi called out with a more gentle knock, “It’s Levi,” he waited for a reply, but receiving nothing. 

Another knock “I’m going to come in if you don’t open this door,” Levi threatened to no one. He reached for the door handle, keeping true to his threat, and found it to be unlocked--open to anyone. 

“I’m coming in,” Levi spoke before entering the small apartment. Levi closed the door behind him, and slowly made his way through the seemingly abandoned apartment. Levi checked the kitchen, and living room, but found no sign of Eren. Levi turned his head to the three rooms that he hadn't seen last time he was here. A small hallway lead to two rooms facing each other, and at the end of the hallway was a bathroom, judging by the open door leading to the room.

Levi made his way to one of the rooms, and pushed the door opened, revealing what seemed to be a guest bedroom due to how blank the room appeared. Turning around, Levi faced the only room he hadn't inspected. 

“Eren?” Levi whispered against the door, “I’m coming in,” He warned before pushing the door open. 

There on the bed laid Eren with a rag covering his forehead, and blankets tucked up to his chin. Seeing this made Levi’s chest ache; his poor Eren was sick! 

A rough cough from Eren pulled Levi out of his daze.

“Hey Levi. Sorry I didn't call back. I’m not feeling too well.” Eren mumbled in a tired voice. 

“Clearly,” Levi joked, receiving a small wheeze from Eren. 

A wave of concern washed over him, not mixing well with his worry, “Is there anything I can do? Get you some medicine, make food, anything?” Levi asked, wanting to help Eren anyway possible. 

“It’s.. not as bad as it looks… really,” Eren tried reassuring Levi, “It’s just a temporary cold… When I get… sick, it’s...pretty bad,” Eren informed the older man. 

“There should be some cold medicine,” A cough, “In the bathroom cupboard. Could you get… that for me..?” Eren gestured toward the door with a weak hand. 

Levi was out of the room in search for the cold medicine. It didn't take long to find seeing as it was one of the few medicines Eren had. Levi walked in a fast manner to the kitchen, and after finding a cup, got Eren a glass of water. He returned, and gave the sick man the medicine and cup of water. 

Eren guzzled the water. 

Levi gently pulled the cup away from Eren, “Drink slowly. I don’t need you puking your guts on me.” 

“Sorry, I was really thirsty,” Eren apologized with a small smile. 

“Here,” Levi reached for the now dry rag on Eren forehead, “Let me re-wet this for you,” Levi offered, trying to make himself useful. 

Eren nodded his head, “Thank you,” Eren spoke in a whisper. 

Soon Levi returned to the room with a freshly damp rag, and placed it back on Eren forehead. 

“So, where is Stefan?” Levi questioned, although he didn't really care. 

Eren let out a small cough, “He’s in Germany right now.”

“Germany?!” Levi blurted out, astonished at the location, “Why is he back there?” 

Eren moved his legs over a little, and motioned for Levi to sit on the newly created space. 

“He has to work, finish up some business…. and help his family get ready for the trip during the wedding.” 

Curiosity was eating at Levi now, “What’s his job?”

Eren sniffled, “His family owns a candy factory. I don’t know what it’s called… all I remember is that the candy tasted really horrible.” 

Levi laughed at the statement, but continued with the questions, “How long have you been sick for?”

“Ever since we went shopping for my tux. I wasn't feeling too well afterwards, and it just got worse as time went on. But I’ll be fine, I’m already feeling better.” Eren looked at Levi, “Trust me.” 

“If you say so,” Levi sighed.

Eren opened his mouth to say something, but the sound of a door opening interrupted him. Levi looked toward the bedroom door, waiting for whatever--or whoever opened the front door. In a few seconds, the bedroom door swung open, and there stood Stefan in a tan sweatshirt and blue skinny jeans along with a travel bag in hand. 

Stefan’s eyes fell instantly on Levi, and a look of hatred appeared on his face, “What is he doing here?” Stefan asked Eren, although his attention was fixed on Levi.

“He’s just visiting. But I thought you still had a few days left in Germany. What happened with that?” Eren looked to Stefan with a confused look on his face. 

“I’ll tell you later, but for now, can I talk to you,” Stefan turned his attention to Eren, “Alone?” He emphasized the last word while glancing over at Levi. 

Eren coughed into his hand, “Yea, Levi, could you give us a few minutes?” 

Levi nodded to Eren before giving Stefan his signature death look and exiting the room. As he left, he managed to keep the door opened a crack, letting him eavesdrop on the couple. 

“Was macht er hier?”

‘What? Are they speaking German?’ Levi thought before tuning back into the conversation. 

“Wie ich schon sagte, war er nur zu Besuch!” Levi recognized the voice belonging to Eren, who seemed annoyed. 

“Sie wissen, ich mag ihn nicht. Ich will ihn nicht hier.” Stefan complained with an angered tone. 

Eren shot back, “ Das ist meine wohnung, nicht deine! Und er war hier für mich, wenn du nicht.” 

Levi rubbed the bridge of his nose, ‘Why couldn't they speak English? I really want to know what they are saying.’

The couple bickered for a minute or two more before Stefan stormed out of the room and out of the apartment, slamming the door shut behind him. 

Levi looked from the front door to the bedroom door, and back again before deciding to enter the bedroom door to check on Eren.

“You doing ok?” Levi wondered as he entered the room, seeing a very tired looking Eren. 

Eren placed a hand on the rag while he nodded his head, “Yea, just a little fight is all. He will get over it soon,” Eren paused, smiling at Levi, “But thank you for being here for me. It means a lot.” 

“Of course,” Levi responded in a gentle tone, “Do you need anything else?” 

“No, I don’t want to keep you here any longer. You've done enough for me, thank you. I just want some sleep,” Eren murmured, his eyelids slowly falling. 

“Alright,” Levi replied, watching Eren slowly fall asleep. He reached his hand out to ruffle Eren’s hair, but pulled his hand back just ask quickly. ‘What are you thinking?’ Levi criticized himself while he turned to leave. 

Levi placed his hand on the door, “Get better soon, Eren,” Levi whispered over his shoulder before closing the bedroom door, and locking the front door as he left the apartment. 

Levi slowly walked to his car, and let out a loud sigh after getting in. Levi zoned out for a few seconds, going over what just happened in Eren’s apartment and thinking about how sick Eren looked. 

‘Glad I was there to take care of him,’ Levi smiled as he looked back at the apartment. Starting the engine to his car, Levi drove home, ready to relax for the remainder of his day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I also have two tumblrs, feel free to follow me!  
> Ereri/Riren blog: cantrewind-gonetoofar.tumblr.com  
> Main blog: kittensocute.tumblr.com


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi helps Eren shop for a certain type of clothing. Afterwards, the gang head to a different location!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello wonderful readers! I am back with a new chapter! And on my birthday too, ha! But anyways, this chapter is kinda short; it barely exceeded 2,000 words. My latest chapters have been around 3,000. Oh well! This chapter is un beta'd (is that how you say it?), so please correct me if there are any mistakes. Also, I have been receiving a lot of positive comments about the story, and I just want to say: THANK YOU! You guys have no idea how much it truly means to me. OK, enough of my rambling. 
> 
> Please enjoy!

~~19 days until the wedding~~

‘How the hell did I get myself into this situation?’ Levi mumbled to his intertwined hands - that were resting in front of his face - as he contemplated the predicament he was currently in. 

There he sat, in a velvet soft and plush red love seat, in the middle of a very overdone lingerie store. 4 dressing rooms with thick red curtains were put in each corner of the room. Mannequins were posed and set around the store, including the dressing room he was occupying. The mannequins modeled various styles and combinations of bra’s and panties. But the room was dimly lit, making everything seem dark, giving the room an eerie look. To top it all off, smooth jazz was playing over the speakers in the store. Either the person who decorated the store tried too hard, or didn't try at all. 

‘This could be a set for a horrible porno scene,’ Levi told himself with a smirk. As Levi sat there waiting, he recalled how he ended up in a store like this. 

~~~~

“Wait… what?” Levi asked in a confused tone as he pulled into the parking lot of the mall. 

“I need your help with picking out some lingerie,” Eren repeated, “You know, to wear for the honeymoon night.” 

“But why me?” Levi wondered out loud. 

Eren coughed into his hand, and averted his eyes from Levi’s stare, “Well, because…” Eren struggled to find the right words for his explanation, “ha, because you seem to be the type of person that knows this stuff well.” 

Levi kept his gaze on Eren. 

“I’m not saying that you’re a cross dresser or anything like that!” Eren said while flailing his hands in front of him, “What I meant was that you seem to be a ladies man, so you would know what lingerie looks best on a person.” 

Eren ran a hand through his unkempt hair, “Do you get what I’m saying?” 

Levi slowly nodded his head, but was baffled at the assumption. 

‘Sadly, he has assumed wrong.’ Levi concluded in his thoughts, ‘I only slept with one person, and that girl helped me realize that I’m batting for the other team,’ Levi remembered the awkward turning point of his life. 

“You don’t have to do this,” Eren suggested, “I understand that it could be a little uncomfortable.” 

“No,” Levi answered a little too quickly, “I’ll help.” 

“Really?” 

“Yes. After all, I am the best man, right?” Levi said, using the best excuse he could come up with, when in reality, he couldn't turn down an opportunity to see Eren in lingerie. 

Eren’s face lit up with joy, “Oh thank you so much Levi! You have no idea how much this means to me!” Eren sang, clearly delighted at the answer. 

‘Anything for you,’ Levi thought to himself with a small smile on his lips, admiring the joy he brought to Eren with one simple answer. 

~~~~

Levi shook his head as the scene replayed in his mind, followed by thoughts of regret. He should’ve told Eren no. Thinking of Stefan and Eren on their special night — with Eren in sexy lingerie giving Stefan a pleasing show — burned Levi to the core with jealousy. He didn't want to see what Eren had in store for that damn bastard. 

“Levi!” Eren called, catching Levi off guard, “I’m coming out now,” Eren announced from behind the thick red curtain.

“Alright,” Levi replied, his leg bouncing from anticipation and nervousness. 

In an instant, the curtain was drawn back. Although the outfit wasn't much, Levi let out a small gasp at the sight. 

Eren stood mere feet in front of Levi, wearing black thigh high tights and dark red panties decorated with black ruffles. He wore a plain white dress shirt, but it was unbuttoned, making it hang loose around his torso. Accompanying the outfit was a black whip held tightly in Eren’s hands. 

“So,” Eren swung the whip around a little, “Do you think it’s too much? Did I over-do it?” He asked with uncertainty in his voice.

No reply came from Levi, since he was too busy admiring the piece of work standing in front of him. Those panties fit just right, hugging Eren in all the right places, and Levi never thought he would be so attracted to a guy in tights. The whip acted like the cherry on top of a delicious sundae that Levi couldn't wait to devour. 

Levi licked his lips as thoughts flooded into his head. He wanted to take the whip out of Eren’s hands, and demand the young man down on all fours. He would use that whip to smack Eren’s perfect, round ass, and make Eren beg for more. Grabbing a fistful of dark brown hair, Levi would pull back and make Eren hiss with pleasure. His lips would find purchase on Eren’s neck, and suckle on the sensitive, exposed skin there to show everyone who Eren belonged to. He longed to hear those sweet moans escape the boy, and watch the bright eyed boy tremble with lust driven excitement as Levi had his way with him. 

“Levi?” Eren called out, pulling Levi out of his dirty day dreaming. 

Levi folded his arms over his lap, trying to hide the bulge that had appeared in his pants, “Yeah, what?” 

Eren continued on, not noticing Levi’s predicament, “I asked if this was too much. So, is it?” 

“It’s all wrong,” Levi quickly responded. 

“What!” Eren blurted out. 

“None of that goes together, especially the tights. Don’t wear tights.” Levi pointed out. 

In Levi’s opinion, the outfit was perfect, but he didn't want Eren looking as hot as he was now for Stefan. 

“So, what do you suggest?” Eren said with some irritation in his tone. 

Levi paused for a moment, “Don’t wear any lingerie. You don’t need to dress up for your honeymoon. It’s pointless.” He suggested, trying to convince Eren to not buy anything. 

Eren looked down at the floor, “You think so?” 

“Yes, I do. You don’t need sexy clothes to impress someone. You’ll be fine.” 

Eren sighed, “Alright.” With that, he entered the dressing room again, and closed the curtain behind him. 

Levi slowly breathed out, and adjusted his pants to try and hide his hard-on before Eren came back out. 

~~~~

The car ride to Eren’s apartment was quiet, with Levi driving and Eren sulking in the passenger seat about the lingerie incident. 

“Oh,” Eren broke the silence, “I forgot to tell you something,” Eren rubbed his forehead, “I can’t believe I forgot to tell you. It’s so important!” Eren said, scolding himself for forgetting.

“Well, what is it?” Levi questioned with curiosity and worry, due to how Eren had acted for not remembering. 

“Alright, so Stefan and I were talking, and we decided to have the wedding in Germany,” Eren spoke as he glanced over at Levi. 

Levi almost hit the brakes. 

“What?! In Germany? Why?” Levi blurted out in shock. 

Eren took in a deep breath before continuing, “I thought it would be fun! Stefan has a place for everyone to stay at, so it’s like a free vacation, and..” Eren shifted in his seat, “I may or may not live in Germany after the wedding.” 

This time, Levi slammed the brakes. Luckily, no other cars were around. 

“Levi! What the h-” 

Levi turned toward Eren, and interrupted the startled young man, “You’re moving to Germany? How could you not tell me any of this until now?!” 

“I’m sorry!” Eren pleaded, “I didn't mean to not tell you! I've been so busy with planning the wedding and all, it slipped my mind to tell you!” 

Levi took a few deep breaths and rested his head on the headrest of his seat, “I’m sorry. I overreacted. I’m just surprised is all.” 

“It’s fine,” Eren reassured in a gentle voice, understanding why Levi had such a reaction. They had both formed a strong friendship together as time went on; it would be hard knowing a close friend was moving to a different country. 

“When will we be going to Germany?” Levi asked, sounding exhausted. 

“Next week. I can give you your plane ticket when we get to my apartment,” Eren offered. 

Levi nodded his head, “Sounds good,” He replied as he started driving. 

Not a word was spoken between the two the remainder of the ride. 

~~~~

Levi returned Eren home safely, and Eren delivered the plane ticket as promised earlier.

“I’ll text you what time to meet us at the airport,” Eren informed Levi before leaving Levi alone in his car. 

Levi balled one of his hand into a fist, and smack it a couple of times on the steering wheel before resting his head on the makeshift punching bag. 

“What am I going to do? I’m slowly losing him,” Levi whispered to himself. The time he had left to win Eren over — let alone time to be with Eren — was running out. 

~~12 days until the wedding~~

“Whoa!” Connie cried out as he stepped out of the airport, “Guys, we are actually in Germany! Hah!” 

Renier let out a laugh, “Hahah, yeah. This is great!” 

“Hey guys!” Eren yelled with a wave of his hand, beckoning the others towards him, “Over here! Stefan has taxis waiting for us.” 

Levi sighed as he set his luggage on the ground in favor of stretching his sore limbs from the long plane ride. After his stretch, Levi watched the others around him as they loaded their own bags into the taxis. His eyes came to a halt, lingering on Eren. The young man bounced around excitedly with a wide grin on his face, his eyes looking brighter than usual, and a slight blush to his cheeks. 

“Levi,” came a voice, snapping Levi out of his trance, “They’re going to leave without you if you don’t get moving.” 

Levi turned to see Erwin standing next to him, arms occupied by luggage. 

“Oh, sorry. Something…” Levi paused, thinking about his next words, “Something beautiful caught my eye.” 

Erwin gave a small smirk to the shorter man, “Well, there is only one person I know you find beautiful, so I’m going to take a lucky guess and say it was Eren.” 

“Correct. Your prize will be the honor of carrying my bags,” Levi replied to the blond man. 

“I’ll pass.” Erwin shot back while readjusting his arms, making the luggage a little more comfortable to hold. 

Erwin cleared his throat and gave Levi a side-glance before speaking, “So, whats going to happen between you and Eren? You don’t have much time left.” 

“I know I’m running out of time!” Levi snapped back, with more force than necessary. Realizing his outburst, Levi’s eyes sought purchase on the ground, “I’m sorry, I’m just stressed out by all of this at the moment.”

Erwin nodded his head, “Don’t worry, it’s ok. I would be anxious also if I were in your shoes.”

Levi brushed his hand through his hair, “Erwin, I don’t know what I’m going to do.” 

A puzzled look appeared on Erwin’s face, “What do you mean by that?” 

“I mean, look at Eren right now,” Levi said as he pointed over in Eren’s direction, “He looks so happy; I don’t think I've ever seen him this carefree before. It makes me wonder if being with Stefan is better for him or not? If this means I should just give up?” 

Just as Erwin began to respond, Eren interrupted him, calling out to the duo, “Levi! Erwin! Hurry up, unless you want to be left behind!” Eren motioned them toward the group of taxis as he entered the taxi of his choosing. 

Grabbing his luggage, Levi began walking away, “We can talk more later,” Levi informed Erwin as he made his way to an empty taxi. 

The taxi driver greeted him in English, but with a heavy accent, and started the car while waiting for the other cars to begin the trip. Levi took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. Thoughts of the upcoming days flooded his mind, bringing anxiety and sorrow to his mind, but remembering the enthusiasm and excitement on Eren’s face just moments ago brought some peace to his weary mind. 

‘I want to see him make that face every moment of his life; I want to be the one who can put that look of happiness and delight on his face. Making the person you love feel merry and overjoyed brings pleasing warmth to the heart; something I want to experience everyday with Eren.’ Levi thought as he rested his head on his hand, closing his eyes, ‘I won’t give up just yet, Eren. Wait for me.’


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group arrives at the new destination, and later on, a dinner and a show.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap. Everyone, it has almost been 7 months since I have updated. I AM SO SORRY! Wow, I didn't think I would go that long without updating. But I have a somewhat good explanation; I am now a freshmen college student! HAH THERE IS SO MUCH WORK. I was writing bits of the story here and there, and then I just forgot due to preparing for college. Again, so sorry for making you all wait. Also, I notice that when people comment, I haven't been responding back. Please know that I have seen the comment, I do appreciate it VERY much, and I am horrible at responding back. All right, enough about me, back to the story. Unbeta'd, so there are probably a lot of mistakes. Oh well! Thank you all for being so wonderful! 
> 
> Please enjoy!

~~12 days until the wedding~~

If there was one thing that Levi had to give kudos to Stefan for, it would be the admirable castles on an open seashore; in which the taxi was driving toward. 

“Holy shit,” Levi meant to say in his thoughts, but accidentally let the words slip out of his mouth.

A laugh emerged from the driver, “Ah, yes. The Sir and his family are very wealthy; their company does well here.” 

“You address Stefan as Sir?” Levi asked, wondering why Stefan wasn’t called by his name. 

“Yes,” the drivers low, rich accent sounded, “that is what was asked of me, therefore, I oblige.” 

Levi decided not to pry his nose any further, and instead chose to let his eyes wander the scenery around him. Nothing but green fields covered the area, along with the four gray castle towers that showed signs of damage over the years. The damage, however, didn’t make the castles look bad, instead the damage added a sort of antique appearance, making the scenery even more beautiful. 

As the driver came to a halt behind the other taxis, Levi felt a little intimidated by the residence he would be staying at. Everything was lovely, that wasn’t the problem; the problem was that it felt like Stefan was using this as a way to scream: ‘Look at all the wealth I have; I’m rich!’ 

‘Maybe this life is better for Eren,’ the thought crept into Levi’s head, causing Levi to shake his head instantly after thinking about it.

No. Levi wasn’t going to think like that anymore; having a mindset like that would discourage him from continuing forward, and Levi can’t have any doubts now. He is here for a reason: to win Eren over, and bring him back home. 

Levi jumped a little at the sudden sound and movement next to him before he realized the taxi driver had opened the door for him, and was waiting patiently for him to exit. 

Getting out of the car, Levi turned to the trunk where his luggage was currently being held when a hand stopped his movements, “No need. I will get your bags,” The driver said with a nod, and moved forward to retrieve Levi’s belongings. 

The short man thanked the kind driver, and turned around to meet up with the others. 

He didn’t get too far, as he ran face first into the shoulder of another person. 

“Levi!” Eren nearly shouted with happiness, not caring about the collision that just occurred. 

Embarrassed, Levi quickly backed away from Eren and was preparing to make a smart ass remark, but when Levi looked up at Eren his mind went blank, becoming filled with nothing but Eren. 

A sincerely beautiful and gentle smile was worn on Eren’s face, sending butterflies — that Levi didn’t know existed — to his stomach. His chestnut locks swayed with the wind, with a few strands grazing above his eyes, helping to bring out the wonderful colors. A mix of teal and blue-grey was the most prominent color showing, but now, Levi could see a hint of gold gleaming in those bright eyes. 

Everything at that moment was perfect for Levi. 

“Uhm, Levi?” Eren asked slowly, showing his confusion. 

Blinking a couple of times, Levi took another step back to try and put some distance between the two, “Yeah, what?” 

Eren’s eyebrows furrowed a little, “Are you feeling ok? You seemed a little out of it.” 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Nothing to worry about,” The raven haired man quickly replied, hoping Eren wouldn’t press any further. 

“But-” Eren began to say before Levi spoke up. 

“Look,” Levi motioned with his head over to the others waiting by one of the castle entrances, “They’re waiting for us, let’s get going,” Levi instructed, to distract Eren from what just happened. 

“Ok, yeah, let’s go!” Eren regained his pep, and ran ahead to meet the groomsmen. 

A smirk appeared on Levi’s face as he slowly followed behind. 

~~~~

Raising his arms in the air, Levi let out a content sigh as he stretched out his limbs. He finally finished unpacking his bags, and rearranging the room to his liking, that was easily done due to the size of the bedroom. The current room he was staying was almost two times larger than his bedroom at home, and not to mention this was only a guest bedroom.

His thoughts were cut short by a knock coming from the door. 

“Who is it?” He called out, wanting to know who it was before opening the door. 

“It’s Eren,” the young man’s muffled reply came from the other side of the door. 

Hearing who it was, Levi quickly walked over to the door, opening it. 

Levi coughed into his fist, “Hi,” was all he managed to say. 

‘Real smooth there,’ he scolded himself. 

“Hey,” Eren said with a smile, “Stefan is holding a big dinner tonight, and of course all the guests are invited. So I came up here to ask if you will be joining us?” 

In all honesty, Levi really didn’t want to have dinner anywhere near Stefan, especially after what happened last time Stefan joined them to eat. But, Eren did come all the way to his room just to ask, even though he could’ve sent a text or called.

“Sure, sounds good.” Levi said as he stepped out of his room in favor of joining Eren in the hall. 

With the sound of the door shutting as their cue, they began their walk to dinner. 

“So,” Levi started speaking, trying not to make this walk awkward, “What’s for dinner?” 

A little laugh left Eren’s mouth, “I actually don’t know.” 

Levi turned his head, showing a raised eyebrow, “How do you not know?” 

“Well, it’s because I’ve been helping the guys settle into their rooms, and by the time I was heading to your room, Stefan sent me a text saying it’s time for dinner. So I thought I’d let you know since I was headed in that direction.” Eren explained. 

“That guy could be serving us poison, and it could’ve been prevented if you had asked what we were having for dinner,” Levi joked with a small smile. 

This got a laugh out of Eren, “Whatever, Stefan wouldn’t do that.” 

Levi shook his head, “We’ll find out soon enough.” 

~~~~

The dinner was chaos. 

Levi thought it would be a simple meal with the groomsmen, Eren, and Stefan. Not Eren, Stefan, the groomsmen, and most of Stefan’s family. 

And Levi thought he would be sitting next to Eren, but instead he was stuck at the end of the table, next to some old chick who looked like she would croak at any second. Was it even safe for her to be there? 

Where Levi was right now wasn’t by accident though; he knew that this was Stefan’s plan. 

Right when Levi and Eren entered the dining room, the room was packed, and only two seats were available: one next to Stefan, and one at the butt end of the table. So, where else would Levi go? 

And Stefan didn’t even listen to Eren’s plea and protest to the seating arrangement. Eren was completely ignored. 

Oh well, only this once, right? 

“Excuse me!” A voice called from the other end of the table, catching everyone’s attention. 

Stefan cleared his throat before giving his speech, “Thank you all for coming out here today. It is my pleasure to introduce you all to my soon-to-be husband, Eren,” Stefan pointed to Eren, who waved to everyone.

But that wasn’t what Stefan wanted. 

Tugging at the side of Eren’s shirt, Stefan motioned for Eren to stand with him. 

Never has Levi wanted to hit someone so bad; no one should treat their loved one like that!

After the applause died down, Stefan continued rambling, “Today, we shall feast on the meat from the cows I raised on my farm. Please do enjoy! And again, thank you all for coming. It’s a great honor to see you all.” With that, Stefan raised his glass, and made a toast. 

Before Stefan took his seat, he grabbed Eren by the jaw, and pulled him in for a kiss. 

Levi wanted to be jealous — actually, he was a little jealous — but he couldn’t be, due to how uncomfortable Eren looked during that kiss. Stiff body, eyes wide open, lips pursed, all the signs were there; Eren didn’t like the kiss, and was way out of his comfort zone at that moment. 

All Levi could do was laugh at Stefan. 

Dinner went by fast, with conversations going on all around. Except for Levi, who kept an eye on the old woman next to him in case anything happened to her. 

For dessert, a wide variety of cakes were given to random people. Chocolate, red velvet, strawberry short cake, and vanilla were only a few on the list. There were some cakes that Levi has never seen in his life. 

Levi was given a simple chocolate cake; which he knew was Eren’s favorite kind of cake. Taking a peek down the table, he watched as the servers gave Eren a red velvet cake, and Stefan some weird yellow cake. Was it some type of lemon cake? Banana? Levi didn’t know, nor did he really care. 

“Oh, what kind of cake is that?” Eren gasped at Stefan’s cake before bringing his fork over to take a bite. 

Stefan quickly grabbed Eren’s hand, “What are you doing? Don’t touch my cake. If you want some,” Stefan cut a very little piece off, and placed it on Eren’s plate, “There you go. Don’t go grabbing other peoples food.” 

That scene broke Levi’s heart. 

It was common for Eren to do that, it was a tradition that Hanji and Erwin got him hooked on. How could Stefan expect him to break such a habit as that? Hell, Eren would even steal Levi’s desert on certain occasions, and Levi didn’t care one bit. 

Levi stood from his seat, and grabbed his plate before heading over to where Stefan and Eren were seated. 

When he arrived, he was greeted by two looks, a shocked one from Eren, and a disgusted one from Stefan. 

“What the hell are you doing over here?” Stefan boldly asked. “If I remember correctly, you’re seated over there,” Stefan made a motion with his fork toward Levi’s empty seat at the end of the large dining table. 

Deciding Stefan wasn’t worth the time, Levi turned his back to the snob and faced Eren, holding out his plate of cake, “I saw that you got red velvet, and I was really hoping I would get that flavor,” Levi said to Eren before planting his fork in Eren’s cake, taking a nice bite out of it. Levi placed his plate next to Eren’s, and motioned toward the awaiting cake. 

Eren grinned as he took a piece of Levi’s chocolate cake, and let out a little moan, tasting the sweet chocolatey goodness. 

“Want any more?” Levi asked as he stole another bite from Eren’s cake. 

“One more bite,” Eren quickly insisted, filling his fork with another helping of chocolate cake. 

“Ugh,” Sounded someone across the table, catching Levi’s attention. Casting his eyes to the source, Levi found an elderly couple observing the cake exchange, both sharing a sour look on their faces. 

The woman closed her eyes, and shook her head, “Truly revolting,” she emphasized with a louder tone. 

Hearing dishes softly clatter, Levi turned his head toward Eren, and noticed that Eren had placed his fork on his plate. Looking closer, it was evident to Levi that Eren heard the awful comment. Now, Eren’s head hung low in an effort to hide himself. He brought his hands to his lap, clenching his hands into fists, just to release them and repeat the movement — Over time, Levi learned that it was a nervous gesture Eren had. 

“Excuse me?” Levi hissed to the woman, as he wasn’t happy to see how her words affected Eren. 

A shocked look crossed her face, “What? I was just stating what everyone is thinking,” She waved her finger at the duo, “Your gross cake swapping is not pleasant to watch.” 

“Well, if I remember correctly, no one is forcing you to watch. Why don’t you just eat your food, and keep your opinion to your damn self?” Levi retorted to the couple. 

“How dare you!” The elder exclaimed, “This man, or thing,” She pointed to Eren, “Is going to wed my nephew, so of course I must see if he is suitable for Stefan.” 

Levi’s jaw almost hit the floor. Did she really just call Eren a ‘thing?’

“He is not a ‘thing,’ he is a human being like you and I. Why would you call him that?” Levi voiced his frustration, becoming angrier as the conversation carried on. 

Rolling her eyes, the elder replied, “Clearly because he has no manners, just like you. You both are behaving like animals. Stefan!” She called out, bringing him into the fight, “Why are you letting this happen? Control your husband and his rowdy friend!” 

Stefan turned toward Levi “I-”

Levi slammed his hand on the table, and leaned toward the old hag, “First of all, this is Stefan’s fiancé because the wedding hasn’t even occurred yet. If you want to act all high and mighty, try using correct vocabulary first. And second, there is nothing wrong with this man,” Levi motioned back at Eren, “He is a wonderful man who works hard to achieve whatever he wants, and he doesn’t give up easily. His determination is far greater than anything I’ve seen.” 

Eren was now fixated on Levi, watching with awe as the short man argued for his sake. 

“Who are you to judge him when you don’t even know him? This guy will stop at nothing to accomplish his dreams, to see the world, and to make the most of his life. He has been through some rough shit; we all have, and yet he still continues to live, continues to smile, continues to make others happy. He is truly a special person.” 

Levi paused his speech, leaning in closer to the elderly duo, “His actions, habits, his way of living may not match up to yours, but that doesn’t mean you have the right to treat him like garbage. You talk about manners, yet you don’t seem to have any yourself. All because you can pull money out of your asshole and serve it on a silver platter doesn’t mean you can’t show a little respect.” 

Backing off the table, Levi straightened out his shirt, and brushed his shoulders off, “By the way,” Levi began, “His name is Eren. Don’t forget it.” 

“Hey wait a minute!” Stefan called out to Levi while placing a hand on his arm to stop the short man from leaving. 

Instantly, Levi swiped Stefan’s hand away from his arm, “Keep your filthy hand to yourself. And if I were in your place, and Eren was my fiancé, this ordeal would’ve never happened. I wouldn’t let anyone insult him, just like you should’ve done. But,” Levi shrugged his shoulders, “Whatever.” 

Now noticing that everyone was watching, Levi decided that it would be best to not stick around. Turning to leave, Levi placed his hand on Eren’s shoulder, and gave the brunet a little shake before walking out of the dining room in search for his current room. 

The dining room stayed quiet, with people exchanging glances, not sure of what to do. 

Finally, Stefan broke the silence with a huff, “Jeez, that guy,” he said to his aunt before turning to Eren to see how he was doing. 

To Stefan's surprise, Eren’s eyes still lingered on the dining room doors where Levi had left only minutes before. 

Eren began to move, trying to rise from his seat, wanting to go after Levi, but a hand on his shoulder stopped his progress. Looking to see who it was, Eren saw it was Erwin who halted him. 

“Don’t go after him. Leave him be for now,” Erwin told the young man as he released his hold. 

Eren furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, “But why? I feel like that’s the best thing to do right now.” 

Erwin shook his head, “He isn’t the best person to talk to after a fight, even if he is on your side. I’m not sure why he is like that, but he will need a little bit of time to calm down.” 

Nodding his head, Eren complied, “You know Levi more than I do, so I’ll trust your decision.” 

“Why, thank you Eren!” Erwin grinned, “That means a lot coming from you.” 

“Hah, sure!” Eren joked, earning a laugh from himself and Erwin. Once the laughter died down, Eren’s eyes wandered to the doors again, his thoughts filled with nothing but Levi. 

Trying to distract his mind, Eren turned to the two half-eaten pieces of cake in front of him, wanting to finally finish them. 

The sight of the chocolate cake reminded him of Levi. 

Eren let out a long sigh before picking up his fork, hoping to finish off the cakes quickly so he could see Levi. 

~~~~

As Levi arrived to his room, he quickly ran to his bathroom in search of his tooth brush. Applying a generous amount of toothpaste on, he began to brush his teeth vigorously, trying to get rid of the horrid taste left in his mouth. 

Finished with cleaning his mouth, Levi dried his mouth with a hand towel, satisfied with the minty taste left in his mouth. 

‘I hate red velvet cake,’ Levi thought to himself, shaking his head as he did so. 

~~~~

“Look at all these big ass towels,” Levi said to himself as he observed one of the cupboards in the bathroom, stuffed with huge, soft, white towels, “Who would need this many towels?” 

With an annoyed sigh, Levi proceeded to — well, tried — to take out one towel, which resulted in many towels falling onto Levi. 

A growl came from Levi before he picked up the fallen towels, and started re-organizing the cupboard to his preference. 

During that time, a knock on the door stopped Levi from continuing. 

“Coming!” Levi called out before grumbling his frustration at the towels for making such a mess in the first place. 

“Who is it?” Levi asked as he approached the door. 

A small laugh was heard from the other side of the door, “It’s Eren.” 

Unlocking the door, Levi opened it to see Eren leaning against the doorframe, hands in his pockets and a small smirk on his face. 

“Were you expecting someone else?” Eren questioned followed by another laugh. 

“Hah, yeah right.” Levi scoffed, rolling his eyes, “but anyway, why are you here?” 

“I was wondering if we could talk a little, if that’s alright with you.” Eren told Levi while pushing off of the doorframe to stand straight. 

Levi paused for a few seconds, contemplating his decision, “Yes, but only if you help me with a mess I have.” 

A confused expression crossed Eren’s face, “Uh, sure, I guess. I’ll help.” 

“Good,” Levi replied in a bored tone, “Follow me.” 

Turning around, Levi walked away from the door, leading Eren to the disaster zone. 

“This is it?” Eren asked when they arrived to the bathroom. 

‘He considers this a mess? That needs my help?’ Eren thought to himself as he observed the towels scattered around. 

Levi raised an eyebrow at the young man, “What do you mean by that?” 

“Well,” Eren started, “I thought of something else when you said ‘mess.’ Like maybe you spilled something, or I don’t know, just something different than towels. On a floor.” 

“I have things to be done, and if you want to waste my time talking, you might as well be helping me clean this. You can talk and clean, right?” 

Eren rolled his eyes at the short man, “Yes, I can multitask. Sorry to be such a bother.” 

Levi shook his head at the assumption, “That’s not what I meant,” He said followed by a sigh, “I’m sorry. I didn’t think about what I was saying. You’re not bothering me, and you’re not wasting my time.” 

Kneeling on the floor, Levi quickly began to fold the towels, trying to distract himself from thinking about the dumb comment he made. Eren, seeing this, followed along. 

“Um,” Eren started, “It’s ok. After hearing what you said at dinner tonight, I’m pretty sure that I’m not a bother to you. Right?” 

“Right. Yeah.” Levi replied. 

“But that’s what I came to talk to you about,” Eren told Levi while folding a towel, “I wanted to know if what you said at dinner was true.” He spoke, setting the now folded towel down. 

Slowing down, Levi relaxed his hands on a towel, and turned to look at Eren, only to find that Eren was staring at him. 

“Why would you ask me that?” Levi asked in a calm tone. 

“Well, because I’ve never heard someone say that about me before,” Eren confessed, clenching and unclenching his fists. 

“You haven’t heard that before? Not from your mom and dad? What about Mikasa?” Levi questioned in a puzzled tone. 

“They don’t count!” Eren said with a shake of his head, “They’re my family. Of course they are going to tell me that.” 

Levi furrowed his eyebrows, “What about Armin then?” 

“He doesn’t count either.” 

Levi gave Eren a baffled look, “Really? He is your friend, or did something happen between you two that I didn’t hear about?” 

“No, we are still friends, but he is one of my best friends, so it doesn’t count,” Eren confirmed while waving his hands around. 

Levi paused for a moment, thinking about what he was going to say next, “So, what if Erwin, Hanji, or someone else said what I said tonight. Would you be asking them the same question?” 

“No, why would I?” The brunet asked. 

“Then why are you here, asking me?” Levi responded back, trying to understand what Eren was thinking. 

“I-” Eren started, eyes darting around the room, “I- I don’t know,” Eren sighed in defeat, “I don’t know why, but I can’t get it off of my mind. I need to know if what you said is true, Levi,” The young man looked at Levi, “Please.” 

Running a hand through his hair, Levi gave in, “Yes, it was true. All of it.” 

‘This is the time to tell him.’ Levi told himself, ‘Tell him you love him. Now.’ 

“And I said those things because,” Levi started, catching Eren’s attention. 

Levi inhaled, “Because-” 

Eren leaned forward, “Because?” 

Exhaling, Levi turned his head away from Eren, “Because I wouldn’t lie. Why would I lie about that?” He said in a quiet tone. 

“Oh,” Eren spoke, sounding a little downcasted, “All right. But thank you,” Eren added, “Thank you for the kind words. They meant a lot to me.” 

Turning his head back to Eren, Levi gazed at Eren, who gave him a small, yet beautiful, smile. 

“Yeah, of course. You’re welcome.” Levi replied back. 

Silence fell over the two for a few minutes. 

“I think,” Levi began speaking, “I can finish cleaning this mess on my own. You can go now, if you’d like.” 

Eren blinked a couple of times, “Oh, um, okay. I’ll…” Eren’s words drifted off. 

“I’ll go, then. Sorry to bother you.” 

“Eren, remember what I said earlier?” Levi warned. 

“Right, right. I remember. Sorry,” Eren quickly apologized as he stood up, “I’ll be going now.” 

Levi folded the towel in his lap, and moved to grab another one, “Have a good night, Eren.”

“Good night,” Eren called back, walking out of the bathroom. 

Footsteps, followed by the sound of a door shutting signaled that Eren was gone. 

Levi halted his movement, letting out a long breath while clenching the towel in his hands. The distressed man leaned forward, pressing his face into the towel while shaking his head. 

‘I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t tell him. Why?’ Levi thought, regretting his choice. 

With another sigh, Levi sat up, and began folding towels again, his thought clouded by Eren, the conversation, and guilt for not telling Eren how he truly felt.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi has a hot dream, and later, Eren and Levi go to a church!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LIVE! Hello wonderful people! I have returned with another chapter that is long overdue. I am so sorry for being away for so long. Please know I am still here, I will continue this story, and I love all the comments and kudos you all have contributed. It means so much to me, it truly does. Thank you! So, now the rating has been changed due to events at the beginning of this chapter HON HON. The end of this chapter took a whole different direction than what I had planned. I was just writing, and then I was like "oh, well, ok." Un beta'd because I can't grammar. That's about all I have to say, so I hope you all like this chapter, and again, sorry for making you all wait. 
> 
> Please enjoy!

~~ 9 days until the wedding ~~

“Ah!” came a surprised moan from Eren, “Le-Levi!”  
“Hm?” Levi hummed into Eren's neck before placing soft kisses on the newly formed mark Levi had just made. Levi’s hands moved to Eren’s ass, giving Eren’s cheeks a light squeeze before pulling Eren closer, re-positioning the young man on Levi’s lap. 

Eren inhaled sharply at the movement, “It- Hng!” a whine left Eren’s mouth as Levi made another bruise near Eren’s collarbone, “It feels strange,” Eren breathed out. 

Pulling away from Eren's neck, Levi asked, “Am I hurting you?” concern evident in his tone. Levi looked into Eren’s eyes, waiting for a reply before continuing. 

“No,” Eren replied with a shake of his head, his cheeks becoming a light shade of pink, “It’s just that I’ve never done this before,” Eren explained while gazing at Levi’s lust filled eyes. 

“Alright,” Levi responded softly. Levi’s eyes moved from Eren to the buttons on Eren’s shirt before hesitantly raising pale hands to the buttons, “Are you comfortable with me continuing?” 

“Mhm,” Eren sounded with a nod of his head. 

Levi’s eyes left Eren's in favor of focusing on the buttons in front of him, slowly unbuttoning each one until Eren’s chest was exposed to the raven haired man. Levi ran his hands over every part of Eren’s chest, wanting to take in every dip and curve Eren had, wanting to not forget the feeling of Eren's soft skin and the occasional twitch of a muscle. 

Pushing the fabric off of Eren’s shoulders, Levi pressed soft kisses around Eren’s neck before trailing kisses down Eren’s chest, gently leaving marks here and there on the young man. Levi could feel Eren shiver as Levi’s hands wandered, and Levi could hear small pants from Eren with every kiss Levi gave. These reactions filled Levi with a sense of bliss and want. Bliss from the pleasure Levi, and only Levi, was giving to Eren. Want from lust, the need for Levi to hear more delicious moans from Eren, to taste more of the young man, to show Eren just how much he meant to Levi. 

Levi moved his hand near one of Eren’s nipples, glancing up at the bright eyed man before slowly rubbing the hard nub. 

“Hah... Nng!” Eren groaned at the new feeling. 

Seeing nor hearing any protests, Levi continued rubbing Eren’s nipple, which brought more gasps and groans from Eren. Levi stared at Eren, and watched how Eren’s eyebrows furrowed from pleasure, how his lips quivered with each gasp and moan, how lost he was in the sensation of it all. 

Beautiful. 

Eren’s eyes slowly opened, only to meet silver eyes looking back at him, “Levi?” Eren asked with a shaky breath. 

“You’re beautiful, you know that?” Levi told Eren, “So,” Levi buried his face in Eren’s neck, giving a tender kiss, “beautiful.” 

Eren closed his eyes again as he let out a whimper, overwhelmed by the compliment and love Levi was portraying. 

Levi peppered kisses along Eren’s jaw line before working his way down to Eren’s nipple, deciding to replace his hand with his mouth. The raven haired man gave an experimental lick to the hardened nub, earning a choked moan from Eren. 

More. Levi wanted to hear more. 

Levi gave another lick before taking the nipple into his mouth to suck on the nub, while moving one of his hands to the other nipple to tease it. 

“Fuck!” Eren gasped before biting his hand to suppress another moan. 

Levi continued his suckling and teasing, enjoying the noises Eren created from Levi’s actions. 

A faint knock sounded in with the mixture of moans, and was heard by Levi, but he decided to ignore the sound believing it was just his imagination. 

Levi sucked on the nub one last time, and gave a gentle nibble before pulling away. Turning his attention to Eren’s face, Levi moved his hands down to the belt of Eren’s pants, and placed his hands on the material, “Is this ok?” 

Eren quickly nodded his head, “Levi,” Eren called out, but with a tone different from earlier. His tone was more stern, and seemed to be louder than before. 

Levi took note of the change in Eren’s voice, but brushed it aside as he began to undo the belt buckle. 

“Levi,” Eren called out once more, his volume growing this time. 

The knocking came back, louder. 

Levi stopped his movements, confused by what was happening. Levi looked at Eren, “Yes? What’s wrong?” 

Eren’s expression morphed into confusion, repeating Levi’s name once again.

“Levi!” 

The knocking was even louder, as if it was happening right next to Levi. 

Levi’s vision became a blur as everything began to fade out. 

~~~~

“Ah!” Levi gasped as he sat up in his bed, his book falling from his chest and onto his lap. 

“Wh... what?” Levi whispered to himself while taking in his surroundings. He was in his room, well, the guest bedroom. He had a book by him, and there was a loud knocking at his door. He noticed the drool on his face as he wiped it off with his sleeve with disgust. He had never drooled in his sleep before. And why did he feel so hot? 

‘Wait,’ Levi thought. He remembered a dream, but what was it about? 

“Levi?” A muffled voice called from behind the door. 

“Eren,” Levi told himself, and with that, he remembered his dream. 

Levi’s jaw dropped, ‘A dream? It was all just a dream?’ Levi shook his head, but the pressure he felt in his pants told him something different. 

Looking down, Levi discovered he indeed had a boner. 

“Of fucking course!” Levi cursed out loud.

“Levi? Are you in there?” Eren’s voice rang from behind the door.  
“Yeah? What is it?” Levi replied from his spot on his bed. 

A pause came from behind the door, “Didn’t you read my text?”

“No, my phone died,” Levi lied, biting his lip. 

“Oh.” Another pause, “Well, I was wondering if you would like to come with me to a couple of places?” 

“Right now?” Levi questioned as he glanced down at his predicament. 

“Uh, yeah. That’s why I came up here,” Eren responded, “Levi, is everything ok in there?” Eren asked with worry in his tone.

Levi coughed into his sleeve, “Yep. Everything is fine.” 

Levi could hear shifting on the other side of the door, “Are you sure? Cause I heard you swear earlier.”

“Oh, that?” Levi said to buy himself time to think of a lie, “I, uh, I spilled a drink. And it got on my clothes.” He lied once more. 

“Alright,” Eren replied, “So do you still want to join me? Into town?”

“Yeah, just let me take a quick shower, ok? I feel kind of gross now.” Levi requested.

A hum sounded from the door, “Ok. Just text me when you’re ready.” 

“I will. See you in a little bit,” Levi said as a farewell. 

Footsteps could be heard echoing down the hall, slowly fading away. 

Once the footsteps were gone, Levi let out a sigh, running his hand through his hair. 

‘I can’t believe all of this happened,’ Levi thought to himself with a small laugh. 

~~~~

“Hey!” Eren greeted Levi as the shorter man stepped outside. 

“Hi,” Levi greeted back, making his way toward Eren and the taxi parked behind Eren. 

“So,” Eren began, “What exactly happened earlier?” He asked, eyebrows furrowing from curiosity. 

Levi shrugged his shoulders before putting his hands in the pockets of his jeans, “It’s as I said earlier, I spilled a drink on myself.”

Eren stared at Levi for a few seconds, “That’s it?” 

Levi gave Eren a questioning look, “Yeah, why?” The shorter man responded, hoping Eren didn’t know about what actually happened. 

“Well,” Eren started, “I don’t know. It seemed to be too simple of an answer.”

Levi went silent, giving Eren a bored expression. 

“What?” Eren blurted out, “Why are you looking at me like that?” 

“I’m trying to figure out why you think my answer is too simple,” Levi responded while slightly raising his shoulders. 

Eren gave a huff, “I don’t know, I didn’t think I’d ever hear you say you spilled a drink, let alone on yourself. You know, cause you’re a clean freak.” 

“Hey, I am not a clean freak. I just like things to be cleaner than most people prefer.” 

Eren rolled his eyes at the explanation as a smirk grew on his face, “Yeah, ok.” 

“Besides,” Levi continued, “I can have my clumsy moments too. I am human,” He responded, rolling his eyes to mimic Eren. 

Putting his hands up, Eren admitted defeat, “Alright, alright. Sorry for asking.” 

“So, where are we going?” Levi changed the subject as he studied the taxi behind Eren. 

Eren turned his head toward the taxi, bringing his hand up to rub the back of his neck, “Oh, I thought I told you,” He said while turning back to face Levi, “I was going to go to the church where the wedding will be, so I could look around and see how I might want things set up for the wedding.” 

Bringing his arm down in favor of crossing his arms over his chest, Eren further explained, “And, well, since you’re the best man, I thought you’d like to join me for this adventure.” 

“Yeah, I might as well,” Levi replied, “I have nothing better to do.” 

Hearing this made Eren smile, “Alright, great! Let’s get going, then,” Eren answered, motioning toward the taxi with his head.

“After you,” Levi responded before following Eren toward the taxi. 

~~~~

Levi looked around in amazement at the size of the church he was currently standing in, “How many people are attending this wedding?” He asked with a baffled tone. 

Eren laughed at the remark, walking to stand next to the shorter man, “Stefan has a big family, so that’s why we need such a huge place. I only invited a few people.” 

Levi glanced at Eren before returning his attention to the scenery in front of him, “Who did you invite?” 

“Well,” Eren began, “There’s of course you and the groomsmen,” Eren said while smiling at Levi, earning an eye roll from Levi. The brunette let out a laugh before continuing, “I also invited Mikasa, Armin, Hanji, and my parents.” 

“I thought Armin wasn’t able to make it to the wedding. Doesn’t he have finals?” Levi asked as he recalled a conversation they shared previously. 

Eren shook his head, “ Well, that was the case before, but he told me now that he got his days mixed up, and that he will be out of school by then,” Eren laughed after, “Yeah, this surprised me too. Armin never forgets anything.” 

Levi gave a small nod before changing the subject. “So, that’s all? Those are the only people you invited?” Levi questioned Eren.

Eren shrugged his shoulders, “Yeah, I guess. I didn’t want too many people to come to the wedding.”

Hearing that answer, Levi stared at Eren for a few seconds before motioning with his hands to all the pews that surrounded them, and most of the church, “What was that? About having too many people?” 

“Yeah, yeah I know,” Eren waved Levi off, “Stefan said he needed to have most of his family and relatives present because his family is very well known here, and he needs to make a good impression, and blah blah blah.” 

Levi started walking forward, trying to further explore the grand church, “When are your guests coming to Germany?” 

“Mikasa, Armin and my parents will be here the day before the wedding, and I still don’t know when Hanji is coming. She forgot to tell me when she would be arriving.” 

A small laugh came from Levi, “Yeah, that’s Hanji for you. She will probably just show up randomly.” 

“That’s what I think is going to happen. I can see Hanji doing that,” Eren agreed. 

Silence fell over the two as they made their way down the aisle, both taking slow, short steps. 

“I can’t believe it,” Eren finally spoke up.

Levi turned his head to Eren, “Can’t believe what?”

“In a few days, I will be walking down this aisle, and getting married,” Eren shook his head, “Time goes by so fast.” 

“Correction: you have over a week, not a few days.” Levi explained, knowing the exact time until the wedding, because that was all the time he had left to win Eren’s love. 

Eren laughed at the correction, “Alright, over a week. I’m sorry,” He joked with another laugh. 

Levi decided not to respond, instead he let his eyes wander around as the duo continued their journey. Pews took up most of the church, with rows on each side of Levi along with two other sections of pews facing the center. In the center of the church stood a podium, along with potted flowers on each side of it. On the walls were giant windows that were color tinted, and depicted various religious figures. The tinted windows, along with the sun from outside made the church lite up in an array of colors. 

After taking in the scenery around him, Levi turned his eyes to the man walking next to him. The lighting of the church shined on Eren, and made his sun-kissed skin glow, his brunette locks seemed to change their shade as his hair looked lighter with the new lighting. His eyes were bright — like they always were — as the young man looked around the church, his turquoise eyes moving slowly. 

As Levi admired Eren, Levi realized that they were both walking down the aisle. Next to each other. Together. ‘This could be us in the future,’ Levi thought to himself. With this thought came a rush of love and anxiety. Levi wanted to spend the rest of his life looking, admiring the man next to him. He wanted to wake up next to Eren every morning, and wish the young man good night as they fell asleep. Levi wished to show his love to Eren, how much Eren meant to him, and how happy he had been since meeting Eren. Anxiety, because Eren had found someone else he loved, but doesn’t see the abuse his lover is keeping hidden, and may someday release in a horrid way. Anxiety as Levi’s time with Eren was quickly ending, and Levi may lose his love to someone else that doesn’t deserve it. 

Levi zoned out while staring at Eren, his thoughts raging in his head. 

Eren glanced over at Levi before bringing his attention to Levi. “Levi, are you ok?” Eren asked with a smile as he stared into Levi’s eyes. 

Levi blinked a couple of times, realizing the predicament he was in. He quickly turned his head away from Eren, deciding to look at the windows once more, “Yeah, I’m fine. Just zoned out.” 

“Oh, ok.” Eren slowly responded. 

With a few more steps, Eren and Levi arrived at the podium in the middle of the church. 

“Hmm,” Eren sounded while he turned to the podium, tapping his chin with his index finger, “I don’t know if I want the podium here for the wedding. I wonder if they can move it.” Eren moved his head to look at Levi, “What do you think?” 

Levi glanced at Eren, then at the podium, “Well, that depends. Will this whole church be filled with people?” 

Eren nodded his head, “Most likely.” 

“Then I would keep the podium.” Levi responded. 

“Why?” Eren questioned, “It looks funny, especially if Stefan and I are going to stand here.” Eren motioned with his hand to the area the duo were occupying. 

“That’s true,” Levi agreed, “But how are the guests going to hear what is going on up here if they are sitting farther back?” 

Eren sighed, “Yeah, you’re right. I’ll keep the podium.”

Eren glanced around the church, “Well,” He said, “I came here thinking that I could find a way to set up the church for the wedding, but,” Eren paused, sighing, “I guess that’s not happening. I can’t really change anything.” 

Levi shrugged his shoulders, “Yeah, you can’t do much with a church. Why not have the wedding somewhere else? Maybe outside?” He suggested, “I’m sure Stefan has plenty of land for that.” 

Eren shook his head, “Stefan said the wedding had to be in a church. There was no room for argument there.” 

“From what I’ve been hearing, the wedding is being shaped to Stefan’s liking, not yours,” Levi spoke, “Why is that?” 

Eren opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out. Eren sighed in defeat, “I don’t know. To make him happy I guess.” 

Levi crossed his arms, gazing at Eren, “But are you happy?” 

Eren turned his head toward Levi, turquoise eyes meeting silver. Eren stayed like that, his eyes not moving from Levi’s as he thought about the question. 

‘Am I happy?’ Eren asked himself, but after thinking for a few seconds, he was afraid of his own answer. 

Eren shook his head, his eyes leaving Levi’s in favor of looking at the floor, “It’s just one day, right? It’s no big deal. Soon it will be done, and then we can move on.” 

Levi was about to respond, but stopped when he saw Eren. 

Eren’s eyes were red and watery, with tears on the verge of dropping from Eren’s eyes. 

“Eren?” Levi asked, his voice filled with concern from seeing Eren in such a state. 

“Can-” Eren tried speaking, but his voice cracked, “Can we leave?” Eren gave Levi a fake smile, trying to hide his sadness. 

Levi slowly nodded his head, “Eren? Are you alright?” 

“Yeah,” Eren quickly wiped his cheek as a tear fell, “I just need to leave this place.” He told Levi as he turned to leave. 

Before Eren could walk away Levi lunged forward, throwing his arms around Eren’s neck, pulling him into a tight hug. Levi could feel Eren tense up under him, but Levi squeezed his arms around Eren, trying to help Eren feel better and not wanting this hug to end. 

Seconds passed before Levi felt Eren move. He shut his eyes, ready for Eren to pull away from him and demand an explanation. Instead, Levi felt arms around his back as Eren returned the hug, placing his head on Levi’s shoulder. Soon, small cries came from Eren while he released his emotions that were pent up for so long; since his first trip to Germany when he met Stefan. 

Levi moved one of his hands to cradle Eren’s head, slowly brushing his fingers through Eren’s hair, trying to comfort Eren as much as possible, but not knowing how to. 

The sobs coming from Eren died down, bringing relief to Levi. Levi continued petting Eren’s hair, cherishing the feeling of Eren’s soft locks between his fingers, taking in the smell of Eren with each breath, and enjoying the warmth coming from Eren’s body. Levi wished he could stay like this for the rest of his life; holding Eren. 

Strong arms squeezed Levi’s body before slowly retracting. Saddened that the hug had to end, Levi complied, slowly pulling away from Eren’s warmth. 

Keeping his hands on Eren’s shoulders, Levi looked up into Eren’s eyes as he pulled away, searching the young man’s face for any signs of sorrow. 

Puffy red eyes greeted Levi, along with a weak smile as Eren gazed back, resting his hands on Levi’s hips. 

The two stood there, staring, neither not wanting to move away from the other

Levi’s eyes quickly glanced down at Eren’s lips, silently hoping Eren didn’t notice the movement. 

Eren noticed, repeating the action.

Keeping one hand on Eren’s shoulder, Levi moved his other hand to the back of Eren’s neck, slowly rubbing the nape of Eren’s neck. 

Eren placed his hands on the lower part of Levi’s back, gently tugging Levi back to him. Keeping one hand on Levi’s back, Eren traced his other hand up Levi’s body before tracing Levi’s jawline, settling his hand under Levi’s chin. 

Levi grasped Eren’s shoulder, overwhelmed by the turn of events. 

Slightly tilting Levi’s chin, Eren looked at Levi’s lips once more before looking back at Levi, checking for any signs of protest. 

Only seeing hazed silver, Eren slowly leaned forward. 

Closing his eyes, Levi waited, feeling Eren’s breath on his lips. 

A door slamming stopped the two from continuing, along with a male voice, speaking German, “Ich bin-” 

Levi pulled away from Eren, brushing his hands on his clothes before settling his hands in his pockets, trying to calm his racing heart. Eren turned away from Levi and began running his hands through his hair. 

“Hello,” Levi spoke, hoping the men knew English. 

“Oh, well hello gentlemen!” The stranger greeted with no sign of an accent, “Is there something I can help you with?” The man asked as he and another man entered the church. 

Eren tried to speak, but couldn’t make any sounds, still too stunned from the intimacy he almost shared with Levi. 

“Nope,” Levi spoke up, “We were just looking at the church, because this man,” Levi pointed to Eren, “Will be getting married here soon.” 

“Oh, well isn’t that just great!” The man boomed, “Congratulations young man!” 

Eren gave a small nod at the remark. 

The stranger pointed to the door, “Did you want to continue looking around? My friend and I can leave if you’d like.” He offered. 

Levi shook his head, “No, but thank you anyway. We were just about to leave.” Levi said, turning his head to Eren, hoping to get a response from him. Instead, Eren nodded again, looking lost. 

“Oh, ok. Well, I hope you two have a wonderful day!” The stranger called out to the duo. 

“You too,” Levi returned. 

Looking back at Eren, Levi placed his hand on Eren’s arm, the contact making Eren stare at Levi. They both gazed at each other, remembering what happened only seconds ago before Levi turned to leave, tugging Eren along as they walked toward the exit of the church.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi and Eren take time to think about their feelings for one another, the groomsmen come up with something, and a confession?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO EVERYONE! I AM BACK! Yes, it has been some time, like what almost 9 months? JESUS I AM SO SORRY! I had a horrible time trying to come up with stuff to write for this chapter, my mind was blank I had no ideas. I also had such bad writers block for this story that I started another story and wrote a one shot! If you haven't read those yet, go check them out and give me some feedback! I love hearing from you all! Also, this is the longest chapter I have ever written for this story! Over 5,000 words! Yay! Anyway, I only read through this chapter once because I finally got it done and I was just so excited to post if for you guys! So there are probably a lot of mistakes in this, I am sorry. But anyway, enough from me.
> 
> Please enjoy!

~~ 9 days until the wedding ~~

 

Levi was now back in his guest bedroom, elbows propped on his legs as he held his head, threading his fingers through his hair. He took a shaky breath in, then out, repeating the action for a few minutes as he tried to calm his racing heart and jittery body. He felt like he was on fire, his body tingling as he remembered the events that happened in the church only moments ago. The feeling of Eren’s hand on his back, keeping him secure. The trace of Eren’s fingers on Levi’s arm and jaw, ever so light yet just enough to send chills throughout Levi’s body. Soft fingers held his jaw with tenderness, as if Eren was afraid he would break Levi. If only the young man knew that, in a way, he had already broken Levi. 

 

“Fuck,” Levi breathed out followed by another inhale. 

 

The memories played through his head over and over. Damn, if just that little contact had Levi feeling like this, imagine what it would feel like to have Eren to himself, underneath the raven haired man, encaged by his arms, stealing lust filled kisses while Levi-

 

“No!” Levi ordered to himself as his mind started wandering. 

 

With a shake of his head, Levi quickly stood up and made his way into the bathroom, running the cold water to splash his face a couple of times as he tried to calm himself down. Grabbing a hand towel, Levi held the hand towel to his face, pressing his hands against it. He let out a sigh into the towel, “You’re ridiculous,” His voice was muffled as he spoke into the towel before taking the towel off, patting his face with it. Levi glanced into the mirror while he dried himself, only to stop and stare at himself in the mirror. The man in front of him looked like a hot mess: eyes dilated and hazy, hair ruffled and unkempt, and his cheeks tinted red. 

 

“If only you knew what you did to me Eren,” Levi whispered out loud to his reflection before he turned to the door, making his way back to his room. 

 

Falling on his bed, Levi let out a grunt as he stared up at the ceiling above, his mind wandering once more to Eren. Never did Levi think he would find someone that made him feel so alive. He has never been one to socialize with others or hell even get along with others. Levi could count the number of people he considered his friends on one hand: Erwin and Hanji. Those were the only two people that could handle his snarky personality and his occasional poop jokes. Being twenty eight with only two friends and his stunning comedy, Levi didn’t think he would ever find ‘the one.’ He had relationships in the past, but none of them worked out, he couldn’t love them. Then Eren is throw into his life and over a  year later, here he was: Madly in love with a man six years younger than him.

 

Throwing his arm over his face, Levi closed his eyes as he remembered first meeting Eren.

 

~~

 

“You don’t even need to eat, just come and visit. It’s only going to be Hanji and a few of my co workers. It’ll be fun!” Erwin spoke to the shorter man as the duo walked down a busy sidewalk in the city. 

 

“For the, what, tenth time?” Levi asked as he turned his head to Erwin, “No. I am happy spending my night alone in my house.” 

 

Erwin glanced at Levi, giving him a skeptical look, “Uh huh. Sure.” 

Levi grunted in response, “Don’t act like you know me.” 

 

“Well, I do, so there’s that.” 

 

“Uh huh,” Levi mocked in a dramatic low tone, “Sure.” 

 

“Levi I’ve known you since middle school. I know you more than you know yourself,” Erwin said as he adjusted his tie on his neck.

 

“Congrats. Want a prize?” Levi replied in a monotone voice. 

 

Erwin ignored Levi’s snarky reply, “I’ve seen you naked.” 

 

Levi rolled his eyes, “Cool story. A lot of people have seen me naked.” 

 

Erwin shrugged his shoulders, “Well, I thought that might say something about how close of friends we are.” 

 

“The only time you saw me naked was in our swimming class in eighth grade, along with twelve other guys.” Levi said while stopping at a crosswalk, hitting a button, “Speaking of swimming class, remember that one guy that would always sniff people?”

 

Seeing the sign turn green, Erwin began walking forward, “Oh, Mike? Yeah I remember that guy. I use to always think he had a big nose.” 

 

“A big nose to match his big d-” 

 

“And here we are!” Erwin bursted out, stopping Levi from continuing his sentence. 

 

Levi looked at Erwin “What’s your problem?” 

 

Erwin huffed and shook his head, “Nothing. Anyway, please come with us tonight. It’s gonna be a fun time, alright?” 

 

Levi was about to respond when he felt a body smack into him, knocking him onto the ground.

 

“What the hell?” Levi cursed as he looked up from ground to see turquoise eyes staring back at him, arms braced around Levi. 

 

“Crap! I am so sorry!” The young man said as he began pulling himself off of Levi, “Here, let me help you up,” The man offered when he stood up, holding his hand out toward Levi. 

 

Levi glared at the boy, “Fuck off.” Standing up, Levi brushed off his suit, “Brat, you better pray that you didn’t ruin this suit or you’re buying me a new one.” 

 

“You’re overreacting Levi, calm down,” Erwin stepped in, turning to the young man, “Don’t worry about him, Eren. He’s just a grump.” Erwin reassured. 

 

Eren blinked, looking at the short man, “I’m very sorry, sir! I will buy you a new suit if I did ruin that one! I swear!” Eren pleaded to Levi. 

 

Levi stared at Eren, caught off guard by what he said, “Kid, you don’t make enough to be making promises like that.” 

 

Eren furrowed his brows a little, “Even if I don’t, I’ll find the money to cover the cost. I’ll take full responsibility for my mistake.” 

 

Erwin patted Eren on the back, “It’s ok Eren. Like I said, don’t worry about him.” 

 

Not taking his eyes off of Eren’s, Levi spoke to Erwin, “Eyebrows, you know this kid?” 

 

“First off, it’s Erwin. And second, yes, he is one of my employees. Eren,” Erwin began, “this is my good friend Levi. Levi, this is one of my best employees, Eren.” 

 

Hearing the introduction, Eren straightened his posture, “I didn’t make the best introduction, I’m Eren Jaeger,” Eren introduced himself as he held out his hand to Levi. 

 

Levi looked at Eren, then to Erwin, who was glaring at him. Erwin tilted his head toward Eren, beckoning Levi to accept the introduction. 

 

Rolling his eyes, Levi took Eren’s hand, giving a firm shake, “Levi.” 

 

Smiling, Erwin clapped his hands together, “Great! Glad you two made up. Now, Eren and I need to head in and get to work, I shall see you later Levi.” Erwin waved before heading inside the building with Eren right behind him. With a sigh, Levi continued his walk to his work place that was a couple blocks ahead. 

 

Once the duo were in the building, Erwin placed a hand on Eren’s shoulder, “Hey Eren, you doing anything tonight?” 

 

Eren rubbed the back of his neck, “I don’t believe I am. Why? Is someone not coming into work tonight?” 

 

Erwin shook his head, “No, I was just wondering if you’d like to join my friends and I for a get together tonight. I have a feeling you’ll get along with one of my friends very well,” Erwin asked, a smirk placed on his lips. 

 

“Of course, I’d love to go!” Eren agreed, “But, may I ask which friend you are referring to? I don’t want to make a bad impression on them.” 

 

Erwin gave a small laugh, “No, you’ll be fine. Don’t worry. Let me just say that this friend of mine doesn’t think I know them that well, but I’m going to prove them wrong.” 

 

~~

 

After their first encounter, Levi wanted to hate Eren. He really did, but after deciding to join Erwin and Hanji for the dinner, he couldn’t. Something clicked between the two while they ate, as it wasn’t hard for Levi to talk to Eren, and Eren was able to keep the conversation going. He even laughed at his poop jokes, which no one does (whether Eren was just being kind or not is something Levi didn’t know, and didn’t want to find out). Thinking about their first meeting and now, Levi was shocked. In a short amount of time, Levi began enjoying Eren’s company, and as time went on, his feelings for Eren grew, until it matured to love, something Levi never thought he would experience in his life. 

 

As Levi remembered these memories, he thought about his feelings for Eren. The love Levi felt for Eren was strong, stronger than any feeling he had ever felt. Levi needed Eren to know this. Even more, Levi needed Eren to call off the wedding, for Eren’s sake, not Levi’s. What Eren and Stefan shared was toxic, a fight for dominance which Stefan had made clear was his. Seeing Eren with someone like Stefan shook Levi to his core. If Eren didn’t share the same feelings as Levi, it would not break Levi’s heart nearly as much as watching Eren hand over his freedom to Stefan. 

 

A new sense of determination settled in for Levi. ‘ _ After having Eren almost kiss me, I think he might be changing his mind,’  _ Levi thought to himself, ‘ _ I still have a chance to win him over. If I can’t do that, then I will stop this marriage from happening.’ _

 

“I’m doing this for you, Eren.” Levi finished his thoughts out loud. 

~~~~

 

‘ _ Oh my god I almost kissed Levi!’ _ Eren thought to himself as he paced his bedroom, remembering what happened at the church not too long ago. Eren can’t figure out why he did what he did to Levi at the church. Eren remembered the concerned look on Levi’s face, and the actions the older man took to make him feel better. Those acts warmed Eren’s heart, as he hasn’t been shown that much care in a while. Pulling away from Levi and looking down at him, Eren felt… right. He felt at peace, like that’s where he belonged; in Levi’s arms. 

 

Eren shook his head as he recalled the moment. ‘ _ No. You have a fiance. He loves you. You love him. You both are happy.’ _ Eren told himself as his pace around the room quickened. ‘ _ Stefan loves you. You love him.’  _ He repeated while his mind brought him back to the church, with Levi close to him, ‘ _ You are engaged, you love Stefan’ _ The sight of Levi giving a small smirk filled his head,  _ ‘you love him’ _ Seeing Levi’s eyes flicker to his lips, but only a quick peek as if Eren wouldn’t notice. ‘ _ You love St-’ _ Vividly, Eren traced his fingers up Levi’s side, noticing the way Levi’s eyes fluttered at the touch.  _ ‘You love..’ _ Taking Levi’s chin, Eren tilted his head up slightly, looking into Levi’s silver eyes before leaning in to claim those soft lips. 

 

“..Levi.”

 

Eren stopped in his tracks after he said Levi’s name out loud. Eren took a deep breath in, and out as he ran his hand through his hair. Could he like Levi? Is it possible that Levi liked him back? Why would he let Eren get that far if he didn’t feel something for him too? Eren shook his head as these questions flooded his mind. 

 

“He was just being nice. He is your friend after all. Look at what you two have been through. He listened to you, went on dinner dates, cared for you. He believed in you when no one else did. He was one of your… closest friends..But that doesn’t matter! You took things too far. He doesn’t like you, you don’t like him. End of story.” Eren whispered to himself, trying to make himself believe his own statement. 

 

Sitting on his bed, Eren leaned on his legs, letting his elbows rest on them as he held his head. Taking another breath, Eren tried to erase what he was thinking about, but he couldn’t. The thought wouldn’t leave him. 

 

_ ‘I.. I think I might love L-’  _

 

“Eren?” Stefan’s voice echoed through the room, startling Eren. 

 

“Y- Yes?” Eren asked as he turned to look at Stefan, who was leaning on the door frame. 

 

Stefan furrowed his brows a little, “You feeling ok? Cause we have to go see my parents soon, and I don’t need you getting sick in front of them.” 

 

Eren nodded his head, “Right. We are going to visit them. Sorry, I forgot. I just need a minute.” Eren replied. 

 

Stefan let out a huff, “Well, hurry up. We’re leave in ten minutes.” And with that, Stefan left the room, leaving Eren to his thoughts once more. 

 

~~ 5 more days until the wedding ~~

 

“Guys,” Reiner beckoned the other groomsmen to join him in sitting on the floor in the room Bertolt and Reiner were sharing, “We need to plan a party or something for Eren. You know, like a bachelor party!” 

 

Connie nodded his head in agreement, “Yeah, I feel like we have to do something for Eren. He flew us all out to Germany for crying out loud! We definitely need to pay him back!” 

 

“Well,” Jean interrupted, “Technically it was Stefan who flew us out here. He’s the one with all the money, not Eren.” 

 

Connie rolled his eyes at Jean before giving his arm a shove, “Yeah? Well shut it. He still invited us here. Anyway, does anyone have any ideas what we could do?” 

 

“DRINK!” Reiner boomed followed by a hearty laugh. 

 

“Yeah! I agree with that one!” Jean called out, giving Reiner a high five. 

 

“Guys,” Marco spoke up, “How about we do something other than drink? I don’t think anyone wants to have a hangover before the wedding.” 

 

“Wait,” Connie turned to Marco, “Before the wedding? What do you mean? I thought we would be doing this tonight?”

 

Marco raised an eyebrow at Connie, “Why tonight? We haven’t even figured out what to do yet. Plus, isn’t that when you have a bachelor party? The night before your marriage?” Marco asked the other men.

 

Reiner put his hands up, “Hey, don’t ask me. I don’t know anything about marriages.” 

 

Marco looked at Jean and Connie, who both shrugged in unison. Giving a sigh, Marco turned to Bertolt, “What about you Bertolt? What do you think?” 

 

Bertolt brought his knees up to his chin, wrapping his arms around his legs, “Well, I guess it would be the night before, since it’s the person’s last night of freedom, right?” 

 

Marco gave him a strong nod, “That’s right! So we will have the party in a couple of days. Now, back to our previous question: what should we do for the party? And not just drinking!” 

 

A knock came from the door, causing Reiner to get up, “That must be Erwin. I invited him over since he is one of the groomsmen too. Maybe he has an idea of what to do?” Reiner said as he walked out of the room to the door. A few minutes later Reiner returned followed by Erwin. 

 

“Hey guys,” Erwin greeted the others as he joined them on the floor. A sound of ‘heys’ and ‘sups’ echoed through the room. 

 

“Ok,” Marco moved to face Erwin, “So we are trying to come up with ideas for what to do at Eren’s bachelor party that we are throwing for him. The thing is, we don’t know what to do. Have any ideas?” Marco asked Erwin. 

 

Erwin rubbed his chin for a little bit while looking at the floor before shrugging his shoulders, “I’m not sure what we could do. Are we having the party here? Or somewhere else? Maybe in town?” 

 

Connie made a hum, “Yeah I think we should go into town for the party. Start there, then work our way back to the castle. Cause there’s not much to do here anyway.” 

 

Jean nodded his head slowly, “Ok, that’s a start. But now what to actually do in the town?” 

 

A cough came from Bertolt, making everyone turn their heads in his direction, “Well, this may sound kind of dumb, but I just got done watching a movie and in the movie they do this tradition from Scotland, or something? Anyway, they do a tradition where they go to the nearest bar and have the bride sell kisses. So people in the bar put money in a basket, and then give a kiss to the bride. We could use the money to pay for the drinks, or something?” 

 

The room was silent as everyone gave Bertolt a weird look, except for Erwin, who has a glint in his eyes as a plan formed, “No Bertolt,” Erwin said, looking at Bertolt with an excited look, “No that’s a great plan! Don’t you guys see?” Erwin moved to look at everyone while he spoke, “This is the perfect opportunity for Levi to make his move! He can pay to kiss Eren, and then he can tell Eren his feelings!” Erwin finished with a smile. 

 

“Bertolt, you’re a genius!” Marco praised the quiet man. 

 

“As long as it involves alcohol, I’m in,” Reiner responded. 

 

“Same,” Jean agreed. 

 

“Is it bad that I forgot Levi liked Eren?” Connie confessed, which earned a chorus of laughter from the other groomsmen. 

 

~~ 2 days until the wedding ~~

 

Levi peeked around the entrance into the kitchen, checking if anyone was currently in the room. Seeing that no one was in there, he crept in, eyes roaming for some food to snack on. Sitting on a countertop nearby was a basket of apples and oranges.  _ ‘Perfect’  _ Levi said to himself as he made his way toward the basket. He reached out a hand for a shiny red apple. 

 

“Well look who we have here,” Came a voice from behind Levi. 

 

Halting his movements, Levi let out an irritated grunt, “Fuck off Erwin, I know it’s you.” 

 

The taller man came around, joining Levi in taking an apple, “Damn, I thought I would scare you.” 

 

“Too bad you don’t know me well enough to know I don’t scare easy,” Levi replied before biting into his apple. 

 

Erwin chuckled before biting into his apple also, taking a big mouthful, “Too bad I do know you all too well,” He said with his mouth full of apple. 

 

Levi gave him a disgusted look, “Ew. Have some damn manners,” Grabbing an orange also, Levi turned around toward the exit, “Wait,” He turned back around to Erwin, “Why are you here?”

 

Erwin lifted his apple before taking another bite into it, “Same as you. I wanted a snack.” 

“Stop chewing with your mouth full!” 

 

Erwin swallowed, “There, you happy?” 

 

“Not until you stop talking,” Levi retorted before walking ahead, trying to leave the kitchen. 

 

“How are things with Eren?” Erwin called out before taking another audible bite from his apple. 

 

Hearing Eren’s name, Levi came to a halt, looking around to see if anyone was around. When he saw no one, he responded, “I don’t think this is the right place to talk about this. Who knows who could be hiding?” 

 

Erwin shrugged his shoulders before tossing his apple into the nearby waste bin, “Just thought I’d ask. Want to talk somewhere else, then? You seem upset about something, and I have a feeling it has to do with him.” 

 

Levi huffed, but motioned for Erwin to follow him. 

 

~~ 

 

“Why the hell is your room so big?” Erwin awed as he entered the guest room Levi was occupying. “Mine is a lot smaller than this! No fair.” 

 

“Shut up, eyebrows. Make yourself comfortable.” Levi said as he took a spot on his bed, tossing the orange he took back and forth in his hands. 

 

Seeing no available seats other than the bed, Erwin joined Levi, sitting on the end of the bed, across from Levi, “Now tell me, what’s going on?”

 

“We almost kissed a few days ago,” Levi admitted, rolling the orange around his hands. 

 

“Really? That’s great!” Erwin exclaimed.

 

Levi shook his head, “I wish it was that great, but it’s not. Eren’s been avoiding me now. I haven’t seen him since the incident, and whenever I text him, he never replies. And I can’t find him anywhere in this damn castle.” Levi explained, squeezing the orange in his hand, not noticing the juice coming from it. 

 

Erwin glanced at the orange, then back at Levi before slowly taking the orange from Levi’s hand, “You need to calm down. Relax a bit. It will be fine.” 

 

Levi rubbed his fingers together, feeling the stick from the orange juice. “Gross,” Levi commented out loud, “But no, it’s not ok or fine. I can’t relax,” Levi moved off of his bed, heading for the bathroom to rinse his hand off. He grabbed a towel and returned to his spot on the bed, “Erwin, I only have today and tomorrow, that’s it. That’s all the time I have to somehow convince Eren to like me. If he isn’t even talking to me, then what the hell am I supposed to do? I scared him off and now I don’t have time to fix my damn mistake!” Levi breathed out, bringing his knees up to rest his head on. “Sorry, I don’t know what to do now.” He said while putting his forehead on his knees, hiding his face from Erwin. 

 

Erwin took a breath in, setting the abused orange on the towel Levi had on the bed, “Levi, you’re not the type of person to give up. You’re the type of person that says ‘fuck you’ and shows everyone what you can do. This is no different.” Erwin stopped to think about what he was going to say next, “Look, I know you love Eren, and the wedding is approaching fast, but you still have time. You can still get Eren. You can’t give up, because if you do, you’re also giving up on Eren. Are you willing to let him marry an asshole like Stefan?” 

 

Levi looked up at Erwin, “Damn, you must be mad because that’s the only time I hear you swear.” 

 

Erwin gave a small chuckle to the remark, “Well it’s true. He’s an ass. I hate him. But that’s why you can’t stop now. It’s either Eren goes with you, or with Stefan. Which person do you think is better for him?” 

 

Levi rolled his eyes, “Well obviously I’m going to say with me, but what if he doesn’t like me back?” 

 

“Then at least bring him home. Don’t leave him here with Stefan.” 

 

As Levi was about to reply, a ring tone began going off. Levi raised an eyebrow at Erwin as the blond retrieved his phone from his pocket. Tapping the screen a few times, Erwin silenced his phone and placed it back in his pocket. With a smirk, Erwin turned his attention to Levi, “Your day is about to get ten times better.” 

 

Levi gave him a confused look, “Uh, and how is that going to happen?” 

 

Before Levi could get an answer, he heard loud footsteps in the hallway before a bang at his door followed by an odd giggle. 

 

“Christ, what the hell?” Levi whispered as he turned to Erwin, who was smiling away, “Eyebrows I swear to god..” Levi said under his breath as he went for the door. 

 

Grabbing the door handle, Levi slowly turned the knob, pulling the door open a little bit. 

 

“LEV-”

 

Levi slammed to door back shut, “Nope!” 

 

Erwin let out a loud laugh as he fell back on Levi’s bed, clutching his stomach. 

 

Levi sent a glare to Erwin, “Why the fuck is she here?!” 

 

“Cause I was invited ya dumbass!” Came a muffled voice from behind the door. 

 

Levi looked at Erwin, “I’m not letting her in.” 

 

“Levi, come on. Let her in.” 

 

“Nope.”

 

Erwin stared at Levi, who stared right back, “Well, fine. I guess I will.” 

 

Huffing out, Levi put his hand up, “Fine, but you’re keeping her company. She is the last person I want to hear right now.” With that, Levi opened up the door. 

 

“Well hello Erwin! Long time no see!” Hanji called out as she set her bags down in the room, “Damn, this is a nice room! Can I stay here?” Hanji asked Levi. 

 

“Just shut up shitty glasses and sit down.”

 

“Jeez, somebody isn’t too happy! Is it cause of Eren?” Hanji moved toward Levi, who moved away from her. 

 

“That’s none of your business. Shut it.” Levi responded. 

 

Hanji shook her head and made a clicking sound with her tongue, “That’s a shame, cause I have the answer as to why Eren hasn’t been talking to you.” She said as she moved her glasses down her nose, peering at Levi over her frames. 

 

Levi sighed loudly, “Fine, yes it’s about Eren. Now, tell.” 

 

Hanji giggled, “Ok ok. He hasn’t been talking to you because Armin and Mikasa arrived in Germany a couple of days ago. He’s been spending all of his time with those two. You have nothing to worry about!” 

 

Levi tilted his head a little, “Ok that is great to know, but how do you know?” 

 

Hanji held up her phone, “I’ve been texting him. And,” She held up her hand as Levi was about to speak, “Before you say you’ve been texting him also, he knows. He told me what happened, and he said he needed some time to think about what happened before he talked to you again. Which should be soon by the way.” 

 

Levi let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, “Ok, that’s good, right?” He asked as he looked at Hanji and Erwin. 

 

Erwin nodded his head, “I would say yes, it is.” 

 

“Good,” Levi said, “Now that we are done talking, you both can leave.” 

 

“BUT LEVI I JUST GOT HERE!” Hanji screamed. 

 

~~ 1 day until the wedding ~~

 

Levi set his empty cup of tea down on the table next to his bed before he swung his legs over the side of the bed, planting his feet on the ground to stand up. With a yawn, he began to stretch his arms over his head, relishing the feeling and becoming relaxed. Taking off  his sweats and t shirt, Levi changed into more casual clothes: a red cardigan and a white t shirt underneath, with simple black skinny jeans. As he folded his sweatpants and t shirt, a knock came from his door. Placing the folded clothes on his bed, he made his way to the door, turning the knob and opening the door. 

 

“Oh,” Levi said, startled by who was on the other side of the door. 

 

“Yeah, hey to you too Levi,” Eren spoke in a cool tone, ending his sentence with a smirk. 

“Sorry, Hi.” Levi responded, not sure what to say to Eren. Should he ask why Eren hasn’t talked to him for the past five days? Wait, he knew why, but still. Or should Levi just confess his feelings right here? No, that would be very bad, now is not the right time. Eren is finally here, just take things slow.

 

A cough pulled Levi from his thoughts, “Um, but anyway, I came here to ask if you wanted to go on a walk with me? I need to get away from everything, and I know the castles are near an ocean. So, wanna join me on this adventure?” Eren asked as he put his hands in his jean pockets. 

 

Levi nodded his head, “Yeah, sure. But aren’t you going to be cold in only a t shirt” Levi questioned while looking at the graphic black t shirt the young man had on. 

 

Eren shrugged his shoulders, then shook his head, “I don’t think I will be. It’s not that windy out today anyway.” 

 

“Ok then, don’t complain to me when you’re freezing your ass off, cause I am not giving you my cardigan,” Levi informed Eren before turning back to his room, “I just need to grab my phone.”

 

Eren let out a warm laugh at the statement, “Oh ok, I’ll make sure to not complain.” 

 

~~

 

“You said the ocean was nearby. How much farther?!” 

 

Eren rolled his eyes, “Jeez Levi it’s not that far away. We can still see the castles!” 

 

Levi huffed, “Yeah well I’m an old man, I can’t handle long walks like this.”

 

Eren laughed, “Yeah, ok old man. You’re only twenty eight. Calm down.” 

 

Levi glanced at Eren walking next to him, “Well compared to your twenty two years, I am an old man.” 

 

“Oh my god,” Eren whispered to himself, “Anyway, we are almost there, can’t you hear the waves?” 

 

“What was that? Sorry, old man, can’t hear.” 

 

Huffing, Eren ran a couple steps ahead, leaving Levi behind, “See? Here it is!” Eren exclaimed as they came to an edge of a cliff that overlooked the ocean down below. 

 

Once Levi approached the edge, he slowly nodded, “I didn’t know the castle was near the ocean. Not bad.” 

 

Eren gave him a baffled look, “Not bad? Levi, this is beautiful!”Eren chanted as his eyes roamed the vast ocean, “Plus, that shows how much you don’t go out.” Eren whispered. 

 

“I heard that.” 

 

Eren let out a giggle, “I thought you couldn’t hear cause you were,” Eren brought his hands up, making quotes with his fingers, “ an ‘old man.’”

 

Levi shrugged before turning his attention to the ocean, watching the waves hit the cliffside, “Guess I lied.”

 

A peaceful silence fell over the two while they watched the movements of the ocean, and listened to the crashing waves down below. 

 

Eren took a deep breath in through his nose, inhaling the strong scent coming from the ocean. He let out a content hum before taking another breath in, “It’s so crazy,” Eren began talking, “I’m getting married tomorrow.” 

 

Levi bit his bottom lip as Eren said this, making his stomach turn from anxiety, “Yeah, I know.” 

 

Eren glanced at Levi then back to the ocean before continuing, “I’m saying my own vows for the wedding. Funny thing is, that I don’t know what to say. I would like to think I am speechless, but I feel like it’s something e-”

 

“I love you. So damn much.” Levi blurted out, but quickly shut his mouth. ‘ _ Good fucking job Levi. Not the time for love confessions.’ _

 

Eren turned his head toward Levi, his eyes going wide for a moment as he stayed silent.

 

‘ _ Fuck. I messed it all up. I need to fix this now.’  _ Levi told himself, biting his bottom lip. 

 

Eren let a small smile appear on his lips, and he opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Levi, “That’s how you can start your vow.” Levi turned to Eren, staring at the young man, “Yeah, that’s how you will start it. There, I helped you.” Levi nodded his head, more so to himself than Eren.

 

Hearing this, Eren’s smile disappeared, and a look of sadness came over his face. Looking back at the ocean, Eren spoke, “Huh, yeah, of course. So damn much.” His voice wavered with the last part, but Eren avoided Levi’s gaze. 

 

Levi nodded once again, even though Eren couldn’t see it, “Yeah, except without the ‘so damn much’ part. Just the… first part.” 

 

Eren shook his head, “No, no. Wait,” He said as he held his hand up, “What you said, and the church, it makes sense.” Eren spoke in a soft tone. Furrowing his eyebrows, Eren turned to Levi, and took a step toward the shorter man, “It makes sense. Care to explain what happened with you,” Eren gestured with his hand toward Levi, “what happened between us,” He moved his hand back and forth between the two, “Cause I am so confused. I need an explanation, Levi. I don’t know what to feel right now. My mind and heart feel like they’re battling each other because of you!” 

 

Levi was about to respond when he heard yelling and cheering coming from nearby. The noise caused both Eren and Levi to turn to the source of the sound, “Of fucking course,” Levi whispered as he saw the groomsmen running at them. 

 

When the groomsmen arrived, they all pummeled Eren in a group hug, except for Erwin who decided to stand next to Levi. 

 

Connie had a funny hat in his hand, and threw it on Eren’s head, “We have a surprise for you!” 

 

Eren felt the hat on his head, feeling small jewels scattered about on it, “Wait, what? Could it wait? I-” 

 

Reiner swung his arm over Eren’s shoulders, pulling Eren close to him, “Sorry, but we can’t. We have a bar and drinks waiting for us,” Marco came over and put a basket in Eren’s arms, then gave him a small wink before moving out of the way, “Let’s go!” Reiner chanted as he began pulling Eren along with him. 

 

“Guys, wait!” Eren pleaded as he was pulled away, looking at Levi one last time. 

 

Levi saw a hint of desperation in Eren’s eyes, but Levi watched with sadness as Eren was lead into the distance, once again away from Levi. 

 

Erwin patted Levi’s back, “Come on. We are going too.” 

 

Levi shook his head a little, “Wait, what? Why is that? Let those boys go and have their fun. It’s not like I was,” Levi held up one of his hands, showing his thumb and pointer finger barely touching, “this close to telling Eren how I truly felt. Hell, I think he was about to make a confession too! But no, you guys had to come and drag him away.” 

 

Erwin let out a small huff, “Ok, sorry, we weren’t aware, but anyway that chance isn’t gone. Come on,” Erwin beckoned Levi forward with a smile on his face. 

 

“Ok your smile is creeping me out. What’s going on?” 

  
Erwins smile grew, “Trust me, you’ll see.” 


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bachelor Party Time! But with a twist!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I am back with another chapter that is over 7,000 words long! Because there is actual plot progression. Wow! I am happy to announce that there is only one more chapter of this story left. It's crazy to think that this journey is almost over. I will try to get the final chapter out before the end of August, because that is when I start my junior year of college. Also, funny note about this chapter, I was describing a woman that will be introduced towards the end. I was like 'that description was so easy to come up with, I wonder why?' then I realized I had just described myself. Anyway, I only read through this story once because I wanted to get it out to you all as soon as possible, so unbeta'd. Thanks again for your wonderful patience with my long absences, it's just been harder lately to get into the writing groove. 
> 
> P.S Dominate Eren is my weakness  
> P.P.S Don't hate me for the end of this chapter 
> 
> Please enjoy!

“Where are we going?” Levi demanded “I heard something about a bar,” He continued while following the tall blond leading the way.

“It’s nowhere bad, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Erwin replied as he kept walking forward toward the castles where a few taxis were waiting. One taxi was open and Levi could see Reiner pushing Eren in, following him into the vehicle while Marco entered from the other side.

Erwin slowed his pace, taking longer steps as the taxi with Eren began to take off from the castle grounds, “Want to tell me what was happening now between you and Eren?” Erwin offered, putting his hands in his jean pockets.

Levi crossed his arms, trying to warm himself up from the breeze, “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on first?”

Erwin laughed and shook his head, “Not going to happen, it’s a surprise. Just have some patience.” Erwin reassured Levi, “So, go on. I’m ready to hear about it.”

A sigh left Levi before going silent for a few seconds, taking in the scenery around him, “I accidentally confessed to him and I tried to brush it off, but Eren confronted me about the other day; at the church. We were just taking a nice stroll and then I open my dumb ass mouth saying ‘I love you’ and shit. Out of nowhere he starts to connect everything that has happened over these few months right in front of me.” Levi took a deep breath in, “I was shocked, but at the same time I wasn’t ready for this. Even though I wanted this for so long, for him to realize my feelings for him, I wasn’t prepared. I didn’t know what to do, so I stayed silent. But,” Levi let out a small chuckle, “He was close to a confession, or something like it.”

Erwin turned his head to Levi, raising an eyebrow at him, “What do you mean by that? He either did or didn’t confess to you.”

“He said he was confused as to what was going on between us.” Levi responded, “He said something like his heart was fighting his mind, some sappy shit.”

Erwin slowly nodded his head as he took in the information, “So, we are not certain he likes you just yet, but his decision is wavering. He is beginning to question if he does like you or not, which is a good sign. It’s better than straight rejection.” Erwin offered to reassure Levi.

Levi shrugged his shoulders, “Yeah, I guess. But still, I have a sick feeling in my gut that something is going to go wrong, and I can’t shake the feeling.”

“That’s a normal feeling to have in a situation like this.” Erwin spoke, “I can tell you everything will be fine, but I know that won’t help you much.”

“Damn right it won’t.”

Erwin rolled his eyes, “But, what I can say is that I am here for you, and I truly do want you and Eren to be together because I see how he makes you happy. Before, you were closed off from everyone, you were always angry at something, you never wanted to hang out with Hanji and I, you worked yourself to death, and I could tell you were alone. Eren came into your life and helped you to, mostly, break free from whatever was holding you back. You became more content rather than angry, you gave yourself a break here and there and built a better relationship with your friends. He has changed you for the better. With this, I ask that you trust me in what I am doing right now. I am doing it for you.”

Levi glanced at Erwin, “Going all sappy on me now?”

Erwin smiled at the remark as they approached the last taxi left, “You know it. Now” Erwin opened the taxi door, “Let’s go.”

~~~~

“Can I take off this hat? It’s a little loose on my head, and uncomfortable,” Eren complained, pushing the hat up out of his eyes to emphasize how loose it was.

Marco shook his head, “Nope, you need to wear it for the whole night. Plus it’s a nice hat,” Marco turned and pointed at the hat, “Connie found it and added the jewels himself, pretty impressive, huh?”

On cue, a few jewels fell off of the hat, landing in the basket in Eren’s lap. Marco and Eren followed the fallen beads with their eyes and stared at the beads in Eren’s basket. After a few seconds, Eren looked at Marco with an unconvinced facial expression, “Yeah, very impressive.”

Marco rolled his eyes at Eren, “Hey, it’s the thought that counts. Also the effort Connie put into it. He was very proud of it, so try not to hurt his feelings. I think you might break his heart if you say something bad about it.”

Eren let out a small laugh, “Yeah, Ok. I’ll act like it’s the best hat I have ever received.” Glancing over at Reiner, who was staring out the taxi window with a wide grin on his face, Eren asked, “So, what’s going on exactly? I haven’t seen Reiner this happy in… Well, I don’t know how long. It’s kinda creeping me out.”

Hearing Eren, Reiner quickly turned his head to bachelor, “I am sitting right next to you, ya know? Also, it’s been awhile since I have been able to drink, so I plan to get wasted tonight!”

Eren furrowed his brows in confusion, looking back to Marco, “Drinking? You guys mentioned a bar earlier right? Why are we going there? Doesn’t seem like the best place to have a bachelor party to me.”

Marco gave Eren a smirk, “Well, yes we are going to the bar, but there is a small twist that goes with it.”

“And… what is that twist?”

Marco shrugged, “You’ll find out soon. We are almost there.”

~~~~

The taxi occupied by Levi and Erwin arrived last at the destination, slowly parking behind the other taxis, where the other groomsmen were standing outside a large brick building with a sign saying ‘Wall Rose Bar.’

  
“So it is a bar. How classy,” Levi commented while shifting to open his car door, getting out before he could hear Erwin respond. Levi waited until Erwin was standing next to him before walking to the group of groomsmen. Marco saw the duo approach, and waved a hand at them. Standing next to Marco was Eren, who instantly turned his attention to Levi. Seeing Eren’s stare, Levi stopped his movements, coming to a halt as Erwin continued forward. Eren held his stare and a small shade a of pink crept onto his cheeks as he began to fidget with the basket in his hands, clearly nervous. Yet he held his stare, not taking his eyes off of Levi. A warmth bloomed in Levi’s stomach at the gesture; seeing Eren look so determined and afraid at the same time, an expression that was only for Levi’s eyes. Levi swallowed as the feeling of anxiety crept up, joining the warmth in his stomach, making him feel suddenly sick. Levi blinked a few times before breaking eye contact with Eren, exhaling quickly a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“Levi, are you alright?” Erwin asked as he noticed Levi standing a few feet behind him.

Levi turned to the entrance of the bar, “I’m going to get a drink,” He said as he left the group. Slightly confused, Erwin looked at Eren and saw Eren furrow his brows before he let his eyes fall to the ground with a crestfallen face.

Erwin moved to look at Levi, who was already opening the entrance doors, letting himself in, “Dammit Levi,” Erwin whispered to himself with a small shake of his head.

The group was silent when Levi left, but Marco continued the conversation once Levi entered the bar, “Ok, so we were just waiting for Levi and Erwin before entering, but I guess Levi didn’t want to wait.”

“I don’t blame him, I can’t wait to get a drink in me too!” exclaimed Reiner.

Marco rolled his eyes playfully at Reiner, “Alright, well better not keep you waiting either. Let’s head in!” Marco declared as he wrapped an arm around Eren’s shoulders, leading Eren and the others into the bar.

Upon entering the bar, the group was greeted with an upbeat pop song playing over the speakers. The bar table connected to the walls, forming a rectangle and was some feet away from the entrance. To the left were tables and booths surrounding a performance stage for events. To the right there was the kitchen and restrooms, and another door next to the bar table leading outside to a deck area. The bar was full of people, who were walking around and mingling. “This is going to be perfect,” Reiner commented as he scanned over the many people occupying the bar.

Marco looked at the other groomsmen, giving them a small nod, “Alright let’s do this.” With that, Marco led Eren to the stage area, but stopped once they arrived at the stage area, “Wait,” Marco halted Eren next to him. “There is probably no one here that speaks English, right?” Marco asked when the realization of the situation hit him that they were in Germany, and the chances of someone knowing English was slim.

Eren shrugged at the question, “It’s more common than you think, since every country seems to be required to know some English. I can ask an employee for you? They should probably know English for tourist purposes,” Eren explained, waiting for an answer from Marco.

“Sure,” Marco nodded, “That would be great!”

Looking around, Eren spotted an employee delivering drinks to a table, and used the opportunity to walk over and talk to the gentleman. Marco watched as Eren approached the worker and began talking to the man. Words were exchanged in German between the two, along with some laughs. Finally Marco saw Eren gesturing with his thumb over towards Marco himself, and the man gave an enthusiastic nod before following Eren who was walking back to the freckled man.

“You found someone on your first try? Impressive!” Marco laughed along with Eren and the worker.

“Yes he did,” The man said with a laugh, “I had to take English while I was in school. It was very useful while growing up.”

Marco nodded his head as he listened, “That’s great! You don’t even have an accent, that is impressive!”

The man took a small bow, earning chuckles from Marco and Eren.

“Okay,” Marco began, “So I needed someone who knows English and German,” at this, Eren interrupted.

“You could’ve used me Marco!”

Marco waved his hand at Eren, “I could’ve, but I need this to be somewhat of a surprise for you, so I can’t just tell you the plan. Anyway,” Marco ushered the worker away to explain the plan to the man.

Eren rolled his eyes at the duo, but decided against pursuing them to overhear what was going on. He would find out in a few minutes, so he might as well wait. Eren pushed the hat up on his head and re-positioned the basket in his hands as he was becoming a little uncomfortable with the items after having them for some time.

As Eren was standing by the stage area, he felt eyes on him, like someone was watching him. Eren slowly glanced around, trying to find the source of this feeling. Eren scanned the crowds scattered around the building until his eyes fell upon steel grey ones watching him from the corner of bar. Eren felt suddenly hot under the unwavering gaze on him, and he could feel his face slowly heat up. Levi took the drink currently in his hand and swirled it a few times before taking a drink from it, not breaking his stare. _‘He’s just drinking a damn drink, calm down Jaeger!’_ Eren told himself while he watched Levi, feeling heat spread through his stomach and his skin tingle. Even though Levi wasn’t doing anything spectacular, his gaze and actions still did something to Eren that he couldn’t explain. But he wasn’t complaining either at the pleasure building up in his body just from looking at Levi, as this was something that never once happened to Eren. Never once when he looked at Stefan, when he kissed Stefan, when they explored each others bodies one night. All Levi was doing was looking at Eren like he was some beautiful masterpiece he couldn’t take his eyes off of, and Eren was already falling apart from desire.

 _‘If I’m already like this just from a stare, what would kissing Levi feel like?’_ Eren thought to himself as he began imagining Levi’s lips against his. Would they be soft? A little chapped like Erens? What would Levi taste like? Tea, his favorite drink? How would Levi feel once again in Eren’s arms? Eren thought they fit so well together back when they were so close to one another in the church, and now he wanted to bring Levi into his embrace once again and never release the shorter man.

Eren let out a small gasp, realizing the severity of his feelings for Levi and that they went past more than that of friendship. But the question was: What now?

Acting on impulse, Eren began taking steps forward, planning to pursue Levi and confront him about what was happening between them, if what Eren was feeling for the shorter man was mutual and not one sided. Eren only made it a couple of steps before a voice came over the speakers of the building, halting his movements.

Using a microphone, the worker from earlier stood in the middle of the stage, calling for everyone's attention. In German, he explained what was going to be taking place:

“Alright ladies and gentlemen, we have a special group of people here with a special request from all of us. Over here,” The worker gestured to Eren, who Marco pushed near the stage, “Is a man named Eren who is having his bachelor party here tonight! Congratulations!” The man clapped, encouraging the rest of the patrons in the bar to follow, gaining some loud cheers from the crowd, “There is, however, a twist to this party. In Eren’s hands is a basket, and if you put money in the basket, you get to kiss the bachelor! I heard any gender will do, so everyone can play along!” Various cheers and screams came from the crowd along with claps, “He is a walking kissing booth. Let’s make his last night of freedom memorable, alright?” With that, the worker shut off the microphone while the crowd cheered and people began rising from their seats, making their way towards Eren.

Eren quickly turned to Marco standing next to him, “What!?!?”

Marco shrugged his shoulders before pulling out some money, dropping it in the basket to plant a kiss on Eren’s cheek, “It was Bertolt’s idea, but I think it’s great! Have fun!” Marco waved as he walked away to find the other groomsmen, leaving Eren with a small line of people waiting with money in their hands.

Levi finished the last of his drink, glancing at Eren as the young man began kissing people waiting for him, some a quick peck and others a little more. Levi rolled his eyes at the ordeal, setting his glass on the bar table. Movement next to him caught Levi’s attention, and Levi saw Erwin settling down next to Levi at the bar.

“So, this was the big plan you were hiding from me?” Levi asked, getting right to the point.

Erwin nodded his head, “Yeah, although it wasn’t my idea.”

Levi slightly cringed when he turned his attention back to Eren and saw him with a rather good looking male who was getting a little to handsy, “It’s gross.”

Erwin raised an eyebrow at Levi, “What?”

“The whole kissing thing. Now Eren is swapping spit with everyone. Doesn’t that seem very disgusting to you?”

Erwin sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, “To me: no. But for you and your high standards of cleanliness I can see how it can be gross, but,” Erwin pulled a twenty dollar bill out of his wallet, offering it to Levi, “now is your chance to make your move.”

Levi looked at the money with a hint of confusion, “Why isn’t this in the German currency?”

Erwin rolled his eyes at Levi’s remark, “Does that really matter? We only have tomorrow until we go back to America anyway. Are you going to take it? Or just complain about it? Because, if you don’t use it,” Erwin pulled the twenty away from Levi, “I’ll use it I guess. I don’t want this to go to waste.”

A small growl escaped Levi’s mouth as he reached over Erwin, snatching the money out of his hand, “I don’t think so.” Levi let a sigh leave his mouth as he looked at the money, “But for real, why do you have American currency still?”

“Hanji gave it to me once I told her what was going on.”

Levi shook his head, “Crazy four eyes.”

Erwin chuckled at the nickname, “She offered more than that, but I told her this was more than enough. I think she would literally pay hundreds of dollars for you and Eren to be together.”

Levi folded the money in half and pushed it into his jean pocket, “Well, tell her thanks for me, I guess. And, thanks to you too.”

Erwin looked at Levi with a surprised expression as he wasn’t expecting any sign of gratitude from the shorter man, “Of course Levi.” Erwin accepted Levi’s thanks, knowing it was probably difficult for Levi to say something like that since Levi was always independent and didn’t ever need anyone’s help.

Levi gave a short nod, “Well, I’m going to head outside for a little bit. This place is too crowded for me.” Levi said as he stood up, placing some money on the table for the bar tender.

“Alright,” Erwin replied, “Don’t forget to give Eren a big smooch.”

Levi shook his head while walking away from Erwin, deciding he’d rather not reply to Erwin’s smart-ass response. Making his way past the other people in the bar, Levi slowly made it to the outside deck the bar had. Surprisingly, no one was outside using the space. _‘Probably too chilly for everyone right now with the wind.’_ Levi thought to himself while leaning his back against the building, but he wasn’t complaining. He’d rather be able to sit outside alone for a little bit rather than with others around him talking and drinking.

Levi put his hands in his pockets, and felt the money Erwin gave him earlier. Levi fiddled with the paper in his pocket as a wave of nervousness washed over him thinking about what was to come soon. Being able to taste Eren for the first time, to hold the young man close and swallow down any noises Eren would make. A flashback of him and Eren in the church went through Levi’s mind, wondering if they would be able to continue from where they left off. While Eren was usually quiet and subtle, at the church Levi saw a different side of Eren, a more dominant, determined side. Would Eren return to that state of control once they kiss? Will Eren even give more than a simple peck? _‘If anything, I have to control myself. If Eren wants a simple kiss, that is what I will give him. You are not that thirsty Levi’_ He tried to convince himself, but Levi knew how much he wanted this, wanted Eren.

Levi breathed in and let a long breath out, trying to calm his nerves that were buzzing with anticipation. _‘Ok, you got this. Go back inside, find Eren and kiss him.’_ Levi nodded to himself, trying to convince himself everything would be fine. Levi turned his head up toward the sky as the sunlight was nearly gone and night was approaching, creating a purple tone in the clouds above. Levi removed his hands from his pockets and pushed himself off of the wall, taking a few steps forward on the deck to take in more of the scenery, and to also buy himself some more time before he had to face Eren. Levi closed his eyes and took in a deep breath of air, _‘You’ve stalled enough already, it’s time.’_

Just as Levi opened his eyes, he heard the door to the bar open and someone step out onto the deck, panting as they shut the door behind them. “Jesus,” the familiar, low voice muttered. Turning around, Levi saw Eren standing a few feet away from him.

_‘Fuck’_

As Eren took off the hat he was wearing, he finally noticed Levi standing in front of him, “Oh, hey.” He greeted with a small grin, “I wasn’t expecting to find you out here. I thought you were with the others drinking?” Eren asked while he placed the hat in the basket, freeing one of his hands to ruffle his hair.

Shaking his head, Levi replied, “No, I only had one drink, and that was enough for me at the moment. I don’t like crowded places so I came out here to get away from all of that,” Levi motioned toward the door with his hand as he said the last part, earning a breathy chuckle from Eren.

“Don’t worry, I feel that too. I had to get away from everyone in there. They’re animals!” Eren exclaimed before removing his hat from the basket, dipping it slightly so Levi could see what was in it, “Look at all the money and change I got. Do you have any idea how many people I have kissed in the last like 15 minutes? I don’t even know how many.” Eren huffed while placing the hat back into the basket.

Levi let out a small laugh, crossing his arms on his chest, “Yeah, guess I shouldn’t be complaining, you have it way worse than I do.”

Eren looked Levi in the eye with a dramatic look while he loudly made an ‘mhm’ noise.

Levi rolled his eyes at the action, but smiled as he did so. Levi looked at the basket then back at Eren, “So, are you done for the night? Or do you have to do this for a certain amount of time?”

Eren shrugged his shoulders, “I think for the whole night? But I can’t remember.. I would like to be done now because that was way too much to handle, but we just got here and I don’t want to disappoint the guys since they put all of this together.”

“I don’t see why you couldn’t just put the hat and stuff away and hang out instead of dealing with all of those people the whole night.” Levi said, trying to help Eren make a decision.

Eren nodded his head in agreement, “Yeah, that makes sense. As long as I’m not kissing anyone, I think I will be fine.”

Eren and Levi laughed together, “Good,” Levi said, looking at the basket one last time in Eren’s hand. Moving his hands to his pockets Levi grabbed the money sitting in one of the pockets, “Before you stop for the night,” Levi paused as he brought out the money, “Do you have time for one last customer?”

Levi heard a small gasp come from Eren, who looked shocked, “Uh, yeah. Of course.” Eren confirmed as he held the basket out for Levi to put the money into. Levi took a few steps forward, closing the distance between the two as he dropped the folded twenty into the basket. Eren watched the money fall in, and raised an eyebrow, “American currency? You know we’re in Germany, right?”

“Shut it. I know.”

Eren laughed, giving Levi a lopsided grin as he watched the older man, waiting for Levi to make the first move. Levi moved in closer to Eren, nearly chest to chest with the brunette as Levi brought a hand up to caress Eren’s cheek. “You’re gonna have to help me a little, meet me halfway, since I’m you know, short.” Another laugh left Eren as he glanced at Levi’s lips, “I know, I will.”

Levi rubbed Eren’s cheek before pulling Eren down while Levi leaned up, pressing their lips together. Levi took a sharp breath in through his nose at the feeling of Eren’s lips against his and heard Eren moan softly while Levi felt an arm wrap around his lower back, pulling Levi closer. Moving his lips against Eren’s, Levi brought his hand that was caressing Eren to the back of his head, taking the brown locks into his hands and slightly pulling them, eliciting another noise from Eren that Levi swallowed down. Levi kissed Eren a couple more times, each time harder than the previous one as Levi’s resolve began to crumble from tasting the sweet cinnamon of Eren’s lips, before pulling away from Eren’s hold. Levi didn’t get far though as the arm around his waist tightened, keeping Levi close to Eren. Swollen wet lips and dilated eyes greeted Levi as the shorter man watched Eren. Something deep inside Levi swelled with pride as he saw how much he had affected Eren.

“You paid quite a lot of money for just a couple of kisses,” Eren whispered to Levi in a low, rough tone that made Levi shudder, making Eren smirk as he felt the movement, “I think you deserve some more so you can get your money's worth, right?” Eren asked with a smooth voice that made Levi’s knees weak. Levi nodded his head, unable to trust his voice enough to speak properly.

The next few seconds were a blur to Levi. A crash sounded in Levi’s ears as Eren dropped his basket to free his other hand before turning the shorter man and backing him into the wall of the building. Bracing his hand by Levi’s head on the wall, Eren moved his other hand from Levi’s waist to his chin, tilting Levi’s head up to press a bruising and forceful kiss onto Levi’s lips. This time, it was Levi’s turn to moan as he returned the kiss with the same force, his resolve for a nice slow kiss thrown out as his senses were filled with Eren and he needed more of Eren.

Eren nipped at Levi’s lower lip before taking the lower lip with his teeth, tugging at it then sucking it, making Levi groan at the feeling. Eren used this chance to convey all the feelings he had pent up in him since the events that happened at the church. To show his confusion at his initial feelings, acceptance once he came to terms with how he felt toward Levi, and now desperation as he truly wanted Levi, even if he had to be dominate and make the first move.

Levi returned one of his hands to the back of Eren’s head as he let this other hand rest on Eren’s arm holding his chin up. Levi couldn’t believe this was happening. Couldn’t believe he was being taken apart by Eren from only kissing. Couldn’t believe Eren’s tongue was licking his lips, seeking entrance into this mouth, and _‘oh, yeah, that is Eren’s tongue in my mouth. Holy shit.’_ Levi moved his tongue with Eren’s as they kissed before letting Eren take control because _‘this feels so amazing it’s hard to concentrate.’_

But this wasn’t enough for Levi, he wanted more. Levi pulled away from the kiss and began kissing around Eren’s mouth, slowly working his way to the skin under Eren’s ear. Here, Levi nipped and sucked at the skin, hearing Eren whisper “fuck,” before Levi kissed the area, leaving a small hickey hidden by Eren’s hair. Eren pushed Levi back against the wall, moving to Levi’s neck to return the favor. Eren kissed his way along Levi’s neck, pushing the fabric of his shirt out of the way to reveal the skin where the neck and shoulder met, and gave a bruising bite to the bare skin. Eren could feel Levi arching into him as a gasped left the shorter man’s mouth. Eren bit down once more before sucking at the spot to leave a dark mark that would stay for some time. Eren pressed one last kiss to his mark then moved back to Levi’s lips, kissing him a few times before moving his tongue into Levi’s mouth once more, taking Levi’s tongue with his as they mapped out each others mouths.

 _‘Where did Eren learn to do all of this?’_ Levi wondered to himself, but the answer didn’t matter because _‘this feeling is pure, hot bliss and it can’t end.’_

The sound of the deck door opening hit Levi first, but it was followed by a shriek, which pulled both men from their heated session as they turned their attention to the door. A woman stood with the door open, but she quickly gave out an apology before covering her mouth and shutting the door, clearly knowing she had interrupted something.

The duo panted while staring at the door, still trying to register what had just happened. Levi was the first to turn away to look back at Eren, who still had his attention at the door. Not knowing what to do, Levi began slowly scratching the back of Eren’s head where his hand was, relishing in the softness of the young man’s hair. This action didn’t go unnoticed as Eren turned back to Levi, looking at the shorter man before looking at how he was positioned over Levi. Eren started moving away with an apology on the tip of his tongue until Levi pulled Eren back to him, “Wait. Please,” Levi said with a hint of desperation in his voice, “Just, give me a moment. I don’t think I can walk yet.”

Eren laughed at the statement but wore a big smile as he pulled Levi close to him, wrapping his arms around the shorter man’s shoulders and head trapping him in a hug. Levi froze up momentarily before relaxing into the hug and wrapping his arms around Eren’s torso. Eren’s smile grew bigger as he placed a kiss on Levi’s head, not only happy to see how weak he made Levi become, but to also see that his feelings were returned. A lot of things were going to change now between Eren and Levi, but also with Eren and Stefan. Even so, Eren was ready to face the changes head on if it meant he could keep the joy currently buzzing through him at the moment because Eren had never felt his happy and in love with anybody before.

~~~~

Stefan watched from his window in one of the castles as the taxis began to pull up. He looked on with disgust as each of the groomsmen came tumbling out of vehicles, beyond drunk to even be moving, except for three people. The tall blond man Stefan remembers to be Erwin, who was waving goodbye to the other duo. Stefan’s eyes narrowed as he realized the other duo was Eren and Levi, and why the hell were they so close to each other?

“Is something wrong, brother?” A woman with light brown shoulder length hair and blue eyes currently dressed in an over-sized red t shirt and sweatpants asked as she walked over to join Stefan at the window.

“I have a sick feeling about my fiance and his best man. Look at them,” Stefan instructed to his sister, “They are way too close and too handsy right now. What the hell happened?”

The woman shrugged her shoulders, “Well, by the looks of it, they all just came back from drinking. Maybe they are drunk and hooked up? I don’t know.”

A growl came from Stefan, “Don’t even joke about that. Eren is mine. I won’t have some short punk interfere with my possessions.”

Stefan’s sister raised her hands up in surrender, “Ok, sorry, touchy subject.”

As Stefan watched the duo hold hands while entering the building, an idea came to mind, “Hey, sis, you know you still owe me one, right?”

“Yeah, why?” When she looked over to her brother, she saw an eerie smirk on his face, “Ugh, what is it you want me to do? What do I have to ruin now?”

“Ok, so my plan is, I want you to go to Levi, the best man’s room in about half an hour, and I want you to make a move on him. You don’t have to actually do anything to him, but make it look like you are. As this happens, I’m going to tell Eren that Levi wanted to talk to him and it was urgent. Eren will catch you two doing something intimate together, and whatever formed while they were gone will be broken. Simple enough?” Stefan asked his sister.

She rolled her eyes at him, “You are one cruel bastard, you know that? But fine, I’ll do it. Text me where I need to go and when to go, ok?

~~~~

“You’re back late,” Stefan greeted Eren as he entered their shared room.

“Yeah, sorry, the guys were really having fun so I didn’t want to ruin their mood by leaving early or anything.” Eren said as he stretched out and moved to the dresser to get his pajamas.

Stefan shrugged at the explanation, “Eh, they’ll regret it tomorrow morning. Did you do anything, fun, while you were out?” Stefan asked, putting emphasis on the word ‘fun.’

Eren’s hands faltered in their movements for a few seconds before resuming their actions, shutting the dresser drawer, “Well, other than watch the guys get piss drunk, then no, not really.”

“Interesting.” Stefan said with sarcasm as he got up from his spot on the bed, “I’m going to head to the kitchen and grab myself a snack, ok?”

Eren hummed out a response while he walked to the bathroom with his night clothes in hand. Once Stefan heard the bathroom door shut, he left the room to go to the kitchen.

In the bathroom, Eren started his nightly routine: brushing his teeth and washing his face. Once he was done with washing his face, Eren patted his face dry with a hand towel and moved the towel to wipe some water that got on his neck. As Eren wiped the water off of his neck, he paused as his hand was just below his ear. Moving some of his hair, Eren let a small smile form at the mark he saw in the mirror. It was faint, and would probably go away within a day or two, but it still made Eren’s heart soar. Eren’s mind drifted back to Levi, and their passionate make-out session. The soft feeling of Levi’s lips against his, and the taste of Levi, tainted with alcohol, but a hint of black tea and something else, something clean that Eren can’t name.

He felt a little bad for leaving a more prominent and darker mark on Levi, but only a little. In reality, he wanted to leave more marks on Levi in places everyone could see so people would know that Levi was his. Eren also wanted to feel the sensation of being marked with hickeys and having that claim over him from Levi. Letting his hand come up to his lip, Eren traced a finger over his lips as the memory of that evening played through his head over and over again, making Eren’s small smile grow.

~~~~

Levi sat on his bed drying his hair and scrolling through his phone after washing his face and hair since there was a weird odor left on him from the bar. Locking his phone and tossing it to the side, Levi moved his arms over his head to stretch, but a dull pain from his shoulder stopped him from continuing. Touching the tender spot, Levi got up from his bed and walked to the bathroom mirror. Pulling his shirt down enough to see, Levi let out a small gasp at the bite Eren left on his skin. A dark bruising hickey along with faint teeth marks were on Levi’s pale skin. Rather than feeling mad or disgusted by it, pleasure filled Levi’s body at the sight of the mark as he recalled the touch of Eren’s lips on his skin, and the combination of pain and arousal that went through him when he received this mark. Levi closed his eyes as he remembered how dominate Eren was acting and the thrill that Levi got from letting Eren take control.

Levi wanted to see Eren again. He couldn’t just wait until tomorrow to talk about the ‘what now?’ and their course of action. Levi had to know what was going to happen now since they didn’t have time to talk about it after at the bar. Levi just wanted to run away from this place with Eren and bring him back to their hometown where they could finally settle down and start their own life together.

Levi also may or may not wanted to feel Eren’s lips on his once again.

Pulling his shirt back up, Levi left the bathroom and grabbed his phone from his bed, preparing to send a text message to Eren asking if he would want to stop by and ‘chat.’ Cause Levi knows that there will be more than just chatting happening when Eren arrives. Levi had a taste of Eren once, and now he was hungry for more.

Just as Levi began typing out his message, a knock came from his door.

~~~

“Eren, babe, are you still awake?” Stefan asked as he entered their room from his adventure to the kitchen.

Eren turned over in their bed with this phone in one hand, “Yeah, why?”

“Oh, because while I was down in the kitchen I ran into Levi there. We talked for a little bit, just small talk, but he asked me to tell you that he needs to talk to you. It was urgent, Levi said, so I think you should go to his room and see what that’s all about.” Stefan explained while he came to rest on the other side of the bed.

Eren’s eyes widened as he listened to Stefan’s story, “Oh, really. Uh, yeah, ok. I’ll go see what he needs. I’ll be back… later.” Eren responded, cringing at the pause he left, which implied other things were going to happen.

Stefan just nodded and waved his hand at Eren, but once he heard the door to their room shut, an evil grin spread across his face. “Oh, don’t worry Eren, you’ll be crawling back to me in no time.”

Eren walked through the halls quickly as his anticipation to see Levi grew with every step. It didn’t make too much sense that Levi and Stefan talked to each other since Eren knew they both hated each other, but with Eren and Levi confessing their feelings through actions Levi might not care anymore about Stefan. Eren checked his phone to see if he got a text from Levi at all, but there was nothing new on his phone. Going up the final flight of stairs and rounding the corner to Levi’s bedroom, Eren saw that the door was open.

 _‘Strange,’_ Eren thought as he slowed down his walking speed. As Eren approached the door, he could see two shadows moving from the light that was shining into the dim hallway. A heavy feeling began to form in Eren’s stomach because _‘why are there two shadows in Levi’s room. Why do I hear weird sounds coming from there?’_

“Levi?” Eren called out as he peaked into the room, and a shocked shriek left his mouth at seeing Levi kissing Stefan’s sister. Hearing the shriek, the duo looked at the door and Levi’s expression fell when he saw Eren standing in his doorway, tears threatening to fall from his eyes, “Eren, no wait. This isn’t what you think it is.” Levi tried to explain, but Eren was already gone by the time Levi finished his statement.

“Shit!” Levi swore as he pushed the random woman aside to chase after Eren. Levi had no idea what was going on. One minute he was in his room alone, then he answered the door, and the next minute there was some horny woman on him trying to sleep with him. Levi tried to deny her, but she was persistent, pushing past his door and getting physical with Levi right when Eren walked in.

Just as Levi made it down the flight of stairs, he saw Eren near the end of the hallway, “Eren! Stop! Wait, please!” Levi yelled as he ran after Eren.

“Oh, why should I? So you can tell me that what we did was for nothing? That it was all a lie?” Eren shouted back at him.

Levi halted in front of Eren, “What? No, that’s not it at all. Please, just listen to me Eren.”

Eren shook his head, “There is nothing to explain, Levi. I saw what I saw and there is no way you can make up an excuse for that.”

Levi ran his hand through his hair in frustration, “Eren, I don’t even know who that chick is. She just barged into my room making advances on me. I tried to deny her but she wouldn’t leave me alone. Please, Eren, don’t do this.” Levi grabbed Eren’s shoulders but Eren shrugged away from Levi.

“You’re the one that did this, Levi, not me.”

Shaking his head, Levi asked, “Why don’t you believe me? Why would I lie to you?”

“Because your story doesn’t make sense. Of all the rooms to go to, why would Stefan’s sister go to your room specifically?”

Levi stopped as he heard _‘Stefan’s sister’_ since something didn’t seem right about all of this “Wait, that was Stefan’s sister?”

Eren gave Levi a baffled look, “Oh don’t act like you don’t know who it was you were making out with. Or is that what you do? Choose random people to screw around with?”

“Eren, please! I am telling the truth! What more do I need to do for you to believe me?” Levi begged as his anxiety began to rise.

Eren let out a humorless laugh, “Nothing. You’ve done enough to show me that I made a mistake. Levi, I don’t want you at my wedding tomorrow.”

Levi’s heart dropped as he heard Eren say these things to him, “Eren, no. Please don’t do this,” Levi’s voice cracked at the end of his sentence, barely keeping himself together as he was falling apart inside.

“I’ve made my choice, just like you made yours. Tomorrow morning, I want you gone.” Eren stated before turning around to leave.

A sob stopped Eren in his tracks. Looking over his shoulder, Eren could see fresh tears falling onto Levi’s cheeks.

“I love you, Eren.”

Eren quickly drew in a breath at the statement as tears of his own began to fall too. Eren just wanted to go over and bring Levi into a hug and comfort him, but Eren knew it was all a lie. A show Levi was putting on that Eren fell for, and that betrayal is what made Eren turn and walk away from Levi.

As Eren disappeared from the hallway, Levi fell to the floor, his body too weak to stand up as pain coursed through his nerves and nausea settled in his stomach. Levi covered his mouth with his hand and sobbed quietly to himself, realizing he had lost the one person he loved and cherished the most.


End file.
